


DxD: Sins of the Father

by Majik724



Series: DxD: Sins of the Father [1]
Category: Highschool DxD (Anime)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-04-18 19:40:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 64,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14220351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Majik724/pseuds/Majik724
Summary: Family is what matters. We protect them, we guide them..we avenge them. Nothing is, or ever will be as important for Issei. For his daughter, he would set continents ablaze if it meant her safety.





	1. Chapter 1

**Something that I wanted to try and bring to the table that you don't seem to see any of, an issei with a child that you actually see him interact with.  I may take this down and rewrite it at some if i decide to keep going with this one.  I have the general arcs planned out until the peace treaty.  This was written while i was at work mostly, so it might seem too shallow in a lot of parts.  I had to keep leaving and coming back with my train of thought completely lost.**

 

The member of the ORC were sitting in relative silence at the moment, the abrupt departure of their king Rias Gremory was uncommon.  Especially with a look as stern as she had with the door closing behind her.  The three other occupants were left in the dark at the moment.  All that they knew, was that Sona Sitri had an urgent matter to discuss with the Gregory heiress.  Something regarding a member of one of the pillar families.

 

“Stange….”  The quiet and monotone voice of the short white haired Koneko was the one to break the silence once their Master had been gone for over an hour.

 

Akeno Himejima, walked in from the side room with drinks and snacks for the present group.  

“I agree, it’s not like her to leave us completely in the dark like that.  It must have important to remain just between her and Sona.”  Akeno added her thoughts on the matter.

 

The only male in the room closed his book, looking up to grab the offered cup from his queen.  Kiba gave his insight before taking a sip of his drink.

 

“If it comes down to us needing to do anything, i’m sure we’ll be briefed on the necessary information.  I wouldn’t worry about it too much ladies.”

 

The silence took over once more, each member thinking of just what could cause that reaction from Rias.

 

 

**-LineBreak-**

 

“I can’t believe it took this long to find confirmation.  Sona, have they given a description, anything to make identifying her any easier?”  Rias sat in the office of her friend and rival Sona Sitri, the current president of the student council for Kuoh Academy.

 

The folder in the crimson haired ruin princesses hands held information on the last known descendant of a previously believed extinct pillar family.  The last member had disappeared after a raid on their lands by a band of stray devils.  The Purson household was left with few members after the great war, the civil war had dwindled it down to three members.  After the raid on their lands, only two bodies of the main family could be found, the third was presumed dead…Until now.  There was a report that came down from the office of the 4 Satans that detailed findings of a garden deep in a forest in a rural area of japan that had the energy signature of the Purson family.  That initial report came out a year ago, and was being thoroughly investigated, and up until now it was reported that nothing concrete other than the residual magic in the area was found.

 

Sona shook her head to her friend.  “Nothing absolute.  The garden was the only thing to go on in the first place, no other evidence was found in the surrounding area.  But thats not why I called you here.”

 

Rias set the folder down to give the Sitri heir her full attention, knowing that if Sona felt it was necessary to call her for an immediate private meeting, than it was an urgent matter.

 

Sona sat forward in her seat at her desk, elbows propped on the desk, and fingers laced together.  She took a deep breath in before letting it out slowly.  She was not one for speculation of to jump to conclusions, but she thought this was the best course of action.

 

“Last week, my peerage and I were on the outskirts of town for some group training.  After dismissing everyone to go home, Tsubaki and I felt a small surge of magic close by and followed it.  We found an exact replica of the garden in the report, and it was recently made….maybe a few hours before we found it.”

 

Rias’ eyes went wide at what Sona was implying.  The last known member of the Person family could be in their territory, alive and well, but was hiding for some reason instead of returning home.

 

“I’m assuming you haven’t sent a report to your sister then?  And why wait a week to share this with me?”  Rias asked.

 

“I didn’t want to bring any more attention to either of us than we already get without reason.  I’ve been monitoring that area since then with familiars.  Nothing had come up until this morning.  My familiar alerted me as soon as someone walked into the garden.”

Rias nodded in understanding, the eye contact between the two made it clear how important they felt it was to have another pillar house back on the map.

 

“I understand, so…What did you find?”

 

 

Sona’s face went from neutral to one of uncertainty.  The daughter of the Purson family that had been missing was slightly older then them, so the info she gathered was both concerning and confusing.

 

“There were two people, both hidden by magical distortion.  One was clearly male, about 5’8.  The other was most definitely female, but….. she couldn’t be more than 3 or 4 years old…It was the little girl that altered the garden…its her magic that carries the Purson signature.”

 

Rias’ face took on a harder look.  The raid on the Purson home was 7 years ago, Nora Purson was unmarried and had no children to the knowledge of anyone in the underworld.  The rather unpleasant thoughts running through Rias’ mind needed to wait.  If what Sona was saying was true, and the last Purson member was here in their land, and it happened that it was a small girl.  The man with her had many questions to answer.

 

“Do you have a plan to find these two?”  Rias asked.  The smirk across Sona’s face said that she had already thought of that.

 

“Yes.  And we will get to the bottom of this.”

 

 

**-LineBreak-**

 

 

Sitting on a small bed in a room painted with pinks and purples, and a variety of plants on shelves sat two figures.  The larger was a young man, no more than 17, with a children's pop-up book in hand.  As he read through it, he would occasionally glance over to the small girl under the blanket of her bed next to him.  He could see that she was close to falling asleep, her deep green eyes were slowly giving in to the call of sleep.

The young man closed the book in his hands gently, placing on the book shelf beside the bed.  Looking back to the young girl, he had a calm smile as he brushed her chocolate brown hair out her eyes. Leaning over he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

 

“Goodnight Mari, I love you.”

 

The young girls lips curled up into a tired smile.  “nite daddy.”  She replied quietly as sleep claimed her.

 

The young man got up off of the bed, switched the nightlight on and the overhead light off before walking out of the room, bringing the door to an almost closed position.

 

Walking down the hallway of his modest sized 2 story home, he came to his own bedroom.  He entered and immediately stripped down to his boxers to ready himself for bed as well.  And once in his bed, the same thoughts he had almost every night plagued his mind.

 

_If only you could see her now._

 

_She reminds me of you so much it hurts_

 

_I wish you could be a part of your daughters life._

 

_We miss you…._

 

His thoughts were interrupted as his bedroom door opened, revealing a short woman.  Long black hair flowing down her back, her yellow eyes almost glowing even with the dim light in the room.  The dark red nightgown she wore hung loosely on her shoulders, threatening to fall off at any moment.  

 

She stepped in and put the door in the same position as he did for his daughter, then  slowly made her way over to the opposite side of the bed, her eyes made contact with his with an unasked question.  The young man simply lifted the blanket off of himself, making room for the small woman in bed beside him.

 

No words were exchanged, nor were they necessary, this was how things had been for the past few years after all.

 

Silently climbing into the bed beside him, the young woman was facing the opposite way, and had made her position cuddled with her back pressed tightly against him.

 

His arm came across her midsection, just under her breasts, and she grabbed hold of it with her own.

 

pulling the young woman as close to him as comfort would allow, he held her.  And just like every night they did this, he whispered just quietly enough for her sensitive hearing to pick it up.

 

“Thank you for your help today Anna.  I don’t know what we would do without you.”  

 

Anna traced circles on his arm with her thumb that was placed on the back of his hand, basking in the warmth that permeated from the body behind her.  Once more, she said nothing except for give his arm a gentle squeeze, to let him know that she was there for the two. No matter what.  Anything that he asked of her, she would do willingly.

 

**-LineBreak-**

 

 

Rias Gremory walked into her clubroom deep in thought over what her and Sona had gone over the night prior.  Learning of who just might be in her territory was equally exciting and scary.  Exciting for the possibility of meeting a member of the family that had such great control over nature and plant life that it bordered on the ridiculous.  Scary for the thought of just why this person was in hiding, and who might be after them…and therefore potentially drawn to this territory to find them.

 

She barely made it into the seat of her desk when the other members of her peerage came filing into the room as well.  Akeno, Kiba and Koneko all looking to their king with questions faces.  They hadn’t been told just what the meeting between Rias and Sona had been about, only that they would learn soon if anything came of it.

 

Rias was still deep in thought when Akeno placed a cup just in front of her hands, causing her to look up at her queen.  She smiled as she picked up the drink offered to her.

 

“Thank you Akeno.”  Rias said as she blew on the hot liquid and took a drink.

 

“You’re very welcome President.”  Akeno replied with a smile and small bow of her head.

 

Rias finished her drinks as she gathered the words to share with her peerage.  And as the last sip was swallowed, it was time to fill in the members of her small family.

 

“Akeno, Kiba, Koneko. I need to talk to you about my meeting with Sona yesterday.”  Rias said, taking on her regal heiress persona.

 

The three members picked up on the tone and quickly filled in the seats around the room to await the briefing that Kiba had predicted.

 

“The information I will be sharing with you is strictly confidential to the heads and heirs of the pillar families, I need to be clear on that before we continue.”

 

Rias’ eyes swept the room, seeing her peerage members all nodding with serious expressions she continued.

 

“Okay.  A year ago some evidence was found that might have suggested that there was a living member of what was thought of to be an extinct pillar house.  The 4 Satans had an investigation started that only confirmed that the evidence indeed held the distinct magical signature of the Purson family.  The surrounding areas didn’t yield any new information to go on, so the investigation was effectively dead until more was found. That brings me to my meeting with Sona…  Until anything is confirmed, we are not to spread any information to give friends or distant relatives false hope.  Sona told me that she may have found sufficient evidence to suggest that the Purson descendant may be living in this area, but is still in hiding.  So we are to help Sona once she narrows down the location of this person, we want to approach them carefully.  We don't want them to feel threatened in case they had been trying to escape someone.  We want to make them feel safe around us.”  Rias explained slowly, making sure that every word was carefully taken in and understood.  This would be the _absolute_ worst time to take things too far.  

 

Once again her peerage all nodded, signaling that they all had a grasp of the situation.  They had each been a part of her peerage long enough to know how devil society valued its pillar members, the pure bloods, and were vicious to punish those that dwindled their numbers without proper cause.

 

Ever the voice of caution and reason, Kiba spoke up.

 

“President, if Lady Sitri feels she has enough evidence, why not bring this to higher members of the court?”  His question was valid, and by the looks of the two female members of her peerage, they hadn’t thought of the same thing.

 

Rias sighed, this potential mission had the chance to take a dark turn, but hoped beyond hope that it would all turn out alright.

 

“Because of who….or lack thereof, Sona saw in her video evidence.” Rias paused before continuing.

 

“Sona had her familiar along with her peerages, wathcing the area throughout the week to hopefully get visual confirmation of the individual.  But… It wasn’t quite what matches up with the last known member of the Purson family.  Nora Purson was reported to be 5’6 with brown shoulder length hair, green eyes and should be 20 years old now.  The video Sona has was magically distorted to rid the video of any defining features.  But it showed a male of approximately 5 foot 8….along with a little girl estimated to be 3 to 4 years old.  And the Purson Magical energy came from the little girl.  If the female figure were taller or at least appeared in their 20’s….we would have brought to either my brother or Sona’s sister.  But that isn’t the case, so we need more proof before bringing the info forward.”

 

 

 

It was then that the bell signaling the approaching time for school to begin, rang.  It was also at the same time that Rias had a magic circle appear next to her ear.  As the members of her peerage gathered their belongings, they all had a feeling that this would be a long day.  But before they could exit the club room, Rias spoke once more after she listened to the voice through the magical application.

 

 

“Everyone, we’ve been put on a search and destroy missive for a stray once dusk arrives.  Meet back here after school for further info.  Understood?”

 

 

“  “   “  YES PRESIDENT!”  “  “

 

 

**-LineBreak-**

 

 

During the lunch break, the young man was sitting underneath a tree outside one of the older buildings on the campus.  This was his favorite spot to spend the break, the position of the sun during lunch was just right in relation to the tree.  The sunlight would warm most of his body up to his shoulders, and his face would be in the shade, allowing him to rest his eyes for a few minutes if he wanted.

 

It was also a spot that gave him a sense of peace, it was quiet, away from where most students liked to spend the break.  Aside from that sense of peace, it also made him feel nostalgic.  Remembering the times he’d been in a similar position, only then there was another with him.

 

The sound of light foot steps came into range, the young man opened an eye to see who was approaching.  Had he been like almost any of the others male students, he’d be drinking in the image of beauty before him.  Long black hair in ponytail, violet eyes, large bust all on a taller smooth and slender frame.  Akeno Himejima was walking directly towards him.

 

But instead of eyeing the young woman up, Issei slowly closed his eye again, putting his head back into its resting spot against the tree.  The footsteps could be heard coming closer, and a silky sweet voice spoke once the footsteps stopped.

 

“You’re Issei Hyoudou right?”

 

Without opening his eyes, Issei nodded his head.

 

“I am.  Is there something I can do for you Ms. Himejima?”  He asked politely.  His outward tone was a complete reversal of what he was feeling inside.  He wanted nothing to do with the more notable students of the school, he wanted to be invisible amongst the student body.  Because if he didn’t stand out in any way, there’d be no reason for people to try and intrude on his life away from the academy.  And it was the group that the young woman in front of him that he wanted to avoid the most.

 

“Do you mind if i sit with you?”  The third year girl asked.

 

Issei took only a moment to think it over, and then nodded.

 

“If you would like to, be my guest.”  He said, scooting over a foot to give Akeno enough to sit in the shade if she wanted to.

 

While he may want to avoid the supernatural groups in the school, it would also make him stand out if he refused her request without valid reasoning, of which he had none at the moment.

 

Akeno smiled serenely, not that Issei could see it, and sat with her legs curled to the right.  She settled into her spot, which only left a few inches in between her and Issei, who had yet to once again open his eyes.  Taking out a lunch box she started to eat, discreetly taking in the peaceful face of the boy next to her.

 

After a few minutes of silence between the two of them, Issei was the one to speak.

 

“I’m surprised you know who I am Ms. Himejima.  I don't believe we’ve ever spoken to each other before.”

 

Akeno placed her lunch down, and turned to face Issei.

 

“I pride myself on knowing the names of most of the students here.  However, I think most people at least know who you are.  The elusive and mysterious Issei Hyoudou.”  Akeno chuckled.  Her eyes took on a calculating look as she thought she saw him flinch a little when she said people knew of him.

 

When he didn’t offer a response other a noncommittal grunt, she chose to ask the question many of the female student body had wondered at some point about him.

 

“Rumor has it that you don’t talk to anyone regularly, and no one can point out any close friends of yours.  Is Kuoh’s silent prince not a people person?”

 

Issei opened his eyes, and sat up to set his gaze on Akeno.  He wasn’t a fan of lies, but that didn’t mean he had to tell the whole truth.  He thought through his words carefully, absentmindedly playing with the rings on a leather string around his neck.

 

“I prefer to have a smaller circle, easier to keep in touch with each other that way, when I eventually have to move.”

 

Akeno watched as his eyes seemed to lose a bit of focus, almost like he was reminiscing about times with a loved one.  she caught the sight of what appeared to be a pair of white gold rings around his neck, and her curiosity almost got the better of her.

 

“You’ve only been here for a year, already looking to move away from me?”  She said with a slight pout.

 

 

“Family circumstances.  Can’t ever seem to stay in one place for very long, sometimes not even the same country.”  Issei responded, trying to keep his answers vague and with just enough truth behind them to keep it believable.

 

“That’s a shame, I was hoping we could be good friends.”

 

“Heh, I’d rather avoid having your fan club set their sights on me.  Although if any of them have seen us sitting here, its already too late.”

 

Their conversation was brought to a stop when the bell for classes to resume rang throughout the campus.  Issei silently stood up and began walking away.

 

Above the tree he had just left, standing at a window looking over the grounds, Rias was watching Issei walk away from Akeno with a contemplative look.  Her queens fascination with the boy was slightly confusing the the heiress.

 

**-LineBreak-**

 

 

“Daddy daddy daddy daddy!”  the excited yells of Mari rang through the house as she heard her father walk in the door, and the sound of her small feet sprinting towards him gave Issei just enough time to set his bag down and hold his arms open with a smile on his face.

 

The small brunette girl came bounding down the stairs, her shoulder length brown hair bouncing with her movements, and jumped into her fathers arms.  Issei’s arms changed position to hold Mari with his left arm, while she held herself steady with her arms around his neck, and nuzzled her face into his shoulder.

 

“Mari, did you have fun with Anna today?”  He asked as he carried her into the living room.  She nodded her head with vigor and a beaming smile that always melted away whatever worries Issei had for the moment.  At that moment, his family was the only thing that mattered.

 

“Uh huh.  We played hide and seek!  It took Aunty Anna a long time to find me!”  The three year old was almost bouncing up and down in his arms in her excitement of sharing her day with him.

Issei chuckled at his daughters antics.  ‘So excitable, just like your mother.’  he thought.

 

The stairs creaked as Anna made her way down to the first floor to welcome Issei home.  As she rounded the corner, Issei put Mari down on her own two feet, much to her vocal displeasure.  Anna stepped up to Issei, looking up into his eyes.  her hands cupped each side of his face, and pulled him down into a kiss. 

 

Issei was fairly surprised by Anna’s actions, it was far from the first kiss they’d shared.  The hungry and almost possessive way it felt was new though. Issei was close to letting himself get carried away in the moment, until he noticed her hands were shaking.

 

He pulled away from Anna, stepping to hold her at arms length to look her over from head to toe.

 

Her hair was pulled into a ponytail as it usually was during the day.  She was wearing a gray slim fitting t-shirt with a low neck line that drew more attention to her Breasts that were large for someone of her height.  The black skirt she wore was longer on the left side then the right, giving ample view of one of her smooth and toned legs.  

 

Anna’s face was slightly flushed, and Issei could tell she was having trouble keeping her breathing under control.  She didn’t feel abnormally cold or feverish, nor was she sweaty….So why was she shaking, what was wrong?

 

“Anna, are you alright?” His voice carried a heavy note of concern.

 

Anna’s lips curled into a smile he had only seen two other times, her eyes narrowing slightly to give him a look that said all too well what her intentions were.  She leaned to his left ear, Issei could feel her ragged uncontrolled breath on his neck. Issei felt one of her hands slid under his shirt and rest on his bare chest, the other hand was trailing up his thigh over his pants.

 

 

“I put movement wards on Mari’s room.  I’m not letting you sleep until every step I take hurts for the next week.”  Her sensual tone along with what she was making Issei picture sent a shiver of anticipation down his spine.

 

Mari had been standing off to the side of her father, not liking being left out of the conversation.  She crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks out to form an irritated pout.

 

“Aunty Anna Secrets aren’t allowed!”

 

Issei and Anna both let out a sigh as their fantasy of what the night would hold for them was brought to an end.  Issei turned towards his daughter and picked her back up.  Her pout was immediately replaced with that carefree smile.

 

“But Mari, Anna was just tell me of a _really_ good hiding spot.  So next time we play, I might be able to beat you.”  Issei gave her a teasing smirk.

 

“Daddy, I always find you. I’m the best at hide and seek.”  Mari retorted confidently.

 

Issei chuckled. “Yes you are sweetie.  Now lets get you washed up before dinner alright?”  As he carried Mari upstairs to the bathroom, he missed the look of longing in Anna’s eyes as she watched him interact with his daughter.

 

 

**-LineBreak-**

 

 

Night had fallen and the ORC were moving into the last known area the stray had been spotted.  They moved along the edge of town where a few scattered houses came up to the large forest.

 

The stray was known to be agile, and liked to use forests like the one they were currently in to stay out of sight from both prey and any pursuers by jumping from tree to tree.

 

The information that the duke handed down said that the stray had once been a servant to the Shax family, but had kidnapped and killed a few other servants and taken off afterword.

 

As Rias, Akeno, Kiba and Koneko made their way through the forest, they picked up on the strays trail and made to follow it.  The pace they kept was moderate, so they could keep an eye on their surroundings and not be taken by surprise.

 

The darkening forest was making that increasingly difficult, even with their better than average vision in the darkness.

 

The stench that was Koneko was following to lead the search party started to change, now having the iron hint in it that suggested blood had been shed in the area recently.  

 

The group picked up that pace, worried that another victim had fallen to the stray.  Making their way through the thick forestry, they spotted a set of bloody claw marks on one of the larger trees, which led them to a bloody trail from something being dragged along the ground.

 

As the trail of blood got thicker, the forest was thinning out, and the light of the moon illuminated the area around them.

 

“A little further this way.”  Koneko told the group.

 

As they came around large boulder, they spotted their target, crouched over something on the ground.

 

Rias stepped in front of everyone else, struck a confident posture and raised her voice to the stray, who had yet to notice them.

 

“Stray servant of Lord Shax, You have been ordered to be put down for your crimes against the underworld!”

 

Rias prepared a ball of her families famed power of destruction in her hand, as the stray picked up its head to face the voice.

When it turned to face Rias and her peerage, its face somewhat resembled that of a wolf, and was covered in the blood of its victims.  It had a strand of flesh hanging from one of the large canine teeth in its long mouth.

 

The Stray narrowed its large black eyes, and let a hateful growl escape.

 

The ORC all set themselves into combat positions, ready for the stray to charge at them.

 

Rias shot her ball of destruction at the stray’s head.  The red and black orb of power passed over the stray as it leaned forward and onto all four limbs, before using its position to launch itself straight up into the tree line and jump from tree to tree faster than any its executioners could run on flat ground.

 

“President, its heading towards the neighborhood!”  Akeno called out to her king.  If they lost the stray in the midst of humans, the resulting bloodshed could have Rias removed from territory.

 

The group sprinted in the direction the stray had left, and hoped they could catch it before it reached the homes that were only a mile ahead.

 

 

 

**-LineBreak-**

 

 

Issei had just placed Mari in bed, having to carry her there after falling asleep watching a movie with Anna as Issei cleaned the dishes after dinner.

 

Once she was tucked in, he placed a kiss on her forehead like he did every night, and made his way back to his own room.

 

As his own door came into view, a nervous curiosity sprouted through him at seeing his door closed.  It was almost never closed, he preferred to keep it open so he could here Mari call out to him.

 

He stepped up to the door slowly, grabbed the handle and twisted it.  He went to open it slowly, but it was taken from his hand as it swung open, revealing Anna on the other side with a glossy look in her eyes that said she was tired of waiting.

 

Her hands grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him into the room, once he was clear of the door frame, she spun them around and closed the door with one of her legs extended behind her.

 

Without a moment to prepare, Anna pulled herself up to Issei with one hand behind his head and locked her lips onto his.

 

Issei’s felt his heart speed up, and his mind begin to shut down, and felt more primal urges swell up and take control.

 

Anna felt Issei brush his tongue over her bottom lip and parted hers, She pulled him a little tighter to her to deepen the kiss.  Amidst her trying to steal the very air from his lungs, she started pushing him backwards towards the bed. 

 

Once they reached it, she kept pushing, making them fall together onto the mattress with her on top.

 

Anna released Issei’s lips only long enough for her to throw her shirt off her body, revealing her bare chest to him before bending down for another deep kiss.

 

Issei’s hands grabbed Anna on the upper thigh and pulled her fully onto the bed and into position to straddle his hips.  

 

He could feel Anna give a moan of approval come from his assertive action, and could feel her start to grind her hips onto his.

 

Issei’s hands slid up slowly from her upper thigh, over the taught but soft flesh of her backside, and grabbing onto it firmly with each hand.

 

With a firm grip, Issei quickly rolled to flip their positions at a slow enough speed so their kiss wouldn’t break.  

 

With Anna now underneath him, Issei leaned back and saw the lustful smirk on her face.  She reached her hands up to him, taking the bottom of his undershirt and quickly pulling it over his head and tossing it to the side.

 

Satisfied that they were both in an equal state of undress, Anna pulled Issei back down to her lips.

 

Issei’s left hand trailed up her inner thigh with a feather light touch, slipping underneath her skirt.  His hand felt the silk of her panties at the top of her thigh and brought his hand between her legs and started to rub circular motions at the hot wet spot.

 

Anna gasped at the attention he was giving her moistened core over her thin silk panties.  She spread her legs just bit further apart to give him better access.  As his fingers made their motions, the heat, the desire she’d been holding onto was asking for more.  This wasn’t enough, she wanted more.  Needed more.

 

She bucked her hips to feel more pressure from his hand, and as his fingers traced up they slid across her clit, and it felt like her nerves were all firing at once with quick blast of pleasure.

 

She raised her hips again and brought her hands to the waistband of her panties, and started to slide them off.

 

Issei could feel the silk moving, he broke their kiss and brought both hands to take off the garment standing between him and the prize that was hidden underneath.

 

He slowly pulled them down below her knees and went to resume his attention to her body.  As the silk fell from her legs to the floor his hand traced up her thigh again.  Issei took his ring and middle fingers and slowly slid them inside the wet vice at Anna’s core, with his palm resting on the bundle of nerves just above, making every movement of his hand rub up against her clit.

 

Issei felt Anna clutch onto his back as her gasping breaths started getting louder.  He could feel his own arousal start to become too much to handle, and was just about to lean back up and fully undress, when the ward Issei had placed on the new garden Mari had made alerted him to danger.

 

 

His eyes shot open at the feeling of not just one, but four signals, one of which had a twisted and malevolent feel to it.   A stray.

 

Issei retracted his hands quickly, and Anna opened her eyes to see what he was doing.  Once she saw the stern look on his face, all thoughts of continuing their night was lost.  Issei got up from the bed quickly at feeling the evil presence continue to move in his direction.  He saw Anna sit up on the bed and look at him questioningly.

 

“A stray at the garden moving this way.  Stay here with Mari.”  His normal kind and caring tone was lost.  It was hard and commanding.  His family could be in danger, there was no room for any pleasantries.

 

Anna nodded, got up to pull her shirt back on.  Once it was on and in place, she grabbed Issei by the arm before he could rush out of the room.  He turned back to look at her with a raised eyebrow.  

 

While Anna understood the reason for him to leave, she _really_ wished it hadn't been when things were getting to the best part, and she wanted to make her frustrations known.

 

She stepped in close to Issei so that she was almost pressing her breasts against him.  Her free hand reached down to the bulge just under the belt line, and gave it a gentle rub and squeeze, feeling that it was still primed and ready.

 

“Hurry back, we’re not done here.”

 

Issei gave her a smile, and a kiss that ended too soon to Anna’s liking.

 

“I’ll deal with this as quick as I can.”  Turning back towards the door, Issei quickly made his way out of the room, giving a quick glance over to Mari’s room before making his way downstairs towards the entryway.

 

 

**“I’m ready partner.”** spoke a deep and powerful voice inside of Issei’s mind.

 

Issei nodded down to his left arm as he reached the front door and stepped outside.

 

“Alright Ddraig, let’s do this!”

 

“ **[ BALANCE BREAK ]** “

 

A bright crimson aura lit up the immediate area, it quickly receded as a sound reminiscent of flapping wings replaced it.  And Then he was gone, off to deal with the potential threat to Anna and Mari.

 

 

**-LineBreak-**

 

 

No matter how fast they ran, they just couldn’t keep up with the stray.  Kiba could keep up with pure speed, but the stray would quickly change directions, something that Kiba couldn't do at those same speeds.

 

They had come out of the forest, and into what appeared to be a massive garden with a wide variety of flowers.  If the situation had been any different, Rias was sure she could have stayed there all day just admiring the sights and smells.

 

The stray decided to use the garden as a means to lose his pursuers, taking cover in the mass of sunflowers, The tall flowers covered an area hundreds of feet wide an long, much like the other specific flowers spots.

 

The group from the ORC came to a slow stop just at the edge of the sunflowers, their eyes sweeping through the floral depths.

 

Rias stepped just in front of her peerage, readying her power of destruction in case of an attack. Even with the bright silver light peering down from the moon, the swaying of the sunflowers kept any movement behind them well hidden.

 

“I don’t see him.”  Koneko spoke in her usual short monotone fashion.

 

Kiba spoke from a few feet off the the right of Rias. “Nothing here either.”

 

Akeno stood beside her king, as a queen should, with her fingers sparking with lightning.  “As much as I would hate to do it, i could cut the flowers down with lightning.”

 

Rias considered the flowers in front of her, compared to the lives that could be lost if the stray was able to evade them. Flowers versus loss of life wasn’t really a hard choice to make.

 

“Go ahead Akeno.”

 

Akeno took one last look at the flowers basked in the moonlight, charging up the magic in her fingers while mentally apologizing to whoever planted such a beautiful garden. She thrust her hand forward with a continuos stream of electrical energy flowing from her fingertips.

 

“HAH!”  

 

The magic from Akeno’s hand cut the sunflowers, her hand sweeping back and forth to make sure all of them were leveled out so that finding their target would be a simple thing.

 

A deep strangled growl alerted the ORC members that the stray had been hit by the elemental magic.  With bolts of electricity still arcing off of its body, the stray stood, looking furious but mostly unharmed.

 

The stray threw its head back and howled into the night sky, as its eyes came back to land on the young devils, what looked like a grim smile came over its face just as it vanished from sight in a show of incredible speeds.

 

The group of four backed into a circular formation with their backs to each other, looking around for their target.  The only sound to be heard was the wind brushing past the trees and flora of the garden they were standing in.  The gentle breeze died down for a moment, the leaves and flower petals stopped their rustling.

 

The eerie quiet was of no comfort to the ORC, getting a ‘calm before the storm’ feel from it.  A soft patter of bare feet on soil came from the direction in between Akeno and Kiba, both turned their heads to it, but both were too slow.

 

A swift slice from a clawed hand caught both devils, cutting them in a sweeping upward motion from the hip to the shoulder.  Kiba was thrown into the air, and landed hard on his back.  Akeno was thrown into the air, but had regained enough composure to extend her bat-like wings to stay afloat.

 

The stray had never been seen during his attack.  the only evidence that he’d been near them at all was the physical and bloody marks on their bodies.

 

Kiba started to slowly stir on the ground a few feet out from the formation of his comrades, the blood coming from his inch deep wounds coloring his uniform crimson.  He used the sword in his hand for leverage to pick himself up off of the ground and regroup with the others.

 

As Akeno returned to her position in the circle, the breeze picked back up, and covered the sound of bare feet coming towards them again.

 

“Behind!”  Koneko yelled out in a much louder voice than was typical for her.

 

The group all turned in the direction the small white haired girl motioned to, and saw the blur that was their missions objective closing the distance.

 

The strays claws were raised and ready to strike, but would never hit their mark.

 

***Whoosh***

 

“URK!”  The stray yipped in pain as a burst of wind that carried a red figure slammed into it.

 

The stray tumbled on the ground for nearly a hundred feet, it hadn’t seen what it was that had attacked it out of the blue, but knew that someone new had entered the fight.

 

A collective gasp came from the mouths of the ORC, as they laid eyes on the legendary red suit of armor.  The red figure was undoubtedly male, while his height was average, his posture spoke of power and confidence.  

 

His feet were a bit wider than shoulder width apart, his left foot slightly behind the right.  Knees slightly bent, torso leaned forward a few degrees.  Shoulders and arms tense and ready to action.  the helmet facing the stray, the eyes never straying from the malevolent creature.

 

The only thing that spoke of any kind of negative emotion was the tail connected to the suit, it thrashed its end onto the ground repeatedly.  A motion that Koneko understood as an intense but controlled sense of anger towards the creature it faced.

 

“The Red Dragon Emperor….”  Rias spoke in slight awe mixed with a hint of fear.

 

“Why is he here?”  Akeno whispered to herself more than actually looking for an answer.

 

“….The Garden….”  came Koneko’s reply.  The other three members of her group looked at her with confusion clear on their faces, not understanding why the red dragon of domination would have anything to do with the garden they were standing in.

 

“Why makes you say that Koneko?”  Rias asked of her rook.

 

“He smells like the garden.  He must know who made it.”  The short rook answered, her eyes still locked onto the red armored male standing defensively at the edge of the garden.

 

The Red Dragon Emperor eyed his opponent, which appeared to have been some kind of werewolf at an earlier date, before losing itself to madness.

 

The stray stumbled back to its feet and snarled at the new arrival, ignoring the instincts telling it to just run away and live another day.

 

**[Boost!]** emanated from the jewel on the left hand.  Then the glyphs around the edges of the gems on each hand started to glow with a primal power.

 

The Red Dragon Emperor changed his stance, bringing his hands palm open and facing the sky as a green ball of dragon fire flickered into existence a few inches above each hand.

 

**[Explosion!]**

 

 

The orbs of green fire grew to the size of a soccer balls each, tendrils licked towards its target, like the fire was sentient and wanted to devour the stray in front of it.

 

The helmet glanced for the first time from its target, do to the flames in his hands for a brief moment, and then back to the stray.  When he spoke, all who could hear him were frozen in place from the power radiating from his vocal cords.

 

Even as civilized as the devils may be, they are still one of the more instinct and desire driven factions.

 

**“You….Have defiled her memorial with your presence. _Burn…”_**

 

Rias, Akeno, Kiba and Koneko heard the words, but didn’t register them.  The only thing they knew, was that he did not want the stray here.  And its being here had made his life forfeit.

 

The red armor moved before any more thoughts on the matter of his words could be spoken.  The ball of green living fire was tossed up and quickly punched forward and splashed over the legs of the stray like a ballon of water before engulfing its lower half.

 

The stray screamed in agony, but it was as if it had been nailed where it stood.  The dragon fire flashed back and forth from green to the darkest of crimson as it consumed its target.

 

The left hand that still held the other ball of flame was pulsing in anticipation of watching its sibling flame being fed.  

 

The dragon of legend stalked forward to the screaming stray, his strides weren’t rushed, but held purpose.  The flame collapsed onto the armored hand, which held it tightly between the red talons.

 

The stray never stopped its screaming to notice that the red imposing figure was now only two feet in front of him, left arm pulled back for a punch.

 

The strike was swift, accurate, and deadly.  the armor clad fist struck and pierced through the chest of the deformed werewolf and stopped just shy of its heart.  

 

The screaming stopped, the strays eyes started to grow hollow, but not before the arm in its chest clenched and pulled out of the chest cavity it had embedded itself in.

 

The dingy black stray burst into a green flame that left no body part free, and it was released from its placed on the ground, only to fall over dead, as it continued to burn into nothing.

 

Its body was quickly turned to ash, only 15 seconds after the burst of fire from inside its own body. 

 

Rias was the first to regain composure from seeing the display of brutal power. She took three steps towards the famed Red Dragon before stopping in fear and shock as its tail once more thrashed on the ground.

 

“Thank you for your assistance.  My name is Rias Gremory, heiress to the house of Gremory.  My peerage and I would li-“

 

**“Leave.  Now.”** He spoke, tail still thrashing and leaving chunks torn from the soil beneath.  He was not asking, he was giving an order with the threat of force hidden behind it.

 

Rias was taken back by the abrupt and rather rude comment.  She was a pure born devil of noble birth, how dare he try and command her to do anything, and in her territory no less.

 

But, She knew the scale was tipped heavily in the favor of the Red Dragon as far as outcomes of a battle between him and her peerage.  And quite honestly wanted to show her appreciation for his help, with an alternate goal of hopefully trying to persuade him to join her.

 

“I would only like to formally offer a thank you, and compensate you for your efforts and help this evening.”

 

Rias had a smile that would melt the hearts of men worldwide, her alluring  clear blue-green eyes shone with the moonlight cascading across them.

 

That smile faltered as the Red Dragon turned around to face herself and her peerage.  As he did, a wave of power washed over the area, making breathing a more taxing effort than anyone present had ever experienced.

 

A deep growl escaped the helmet, the eyes glowing in a vibrant emerald light.

 

The air around the dragon armor shimmered from building heat, his entire body looked as though he was struggling from lashing out.

 

A voice laced with the same power as before, but much deeper made itself known to the young Gremory group.  It was instantly recognized by Rias as the voice of Ddraig, the Red Dragon of Domination due to her contact with the Blaze Meteor Dragon Tanin.  His voice was only slightly calmer than his hosts.

 

**[This garden was meant as a place to honor my hosts mate.  Your fight has defiled this place with your thoughtless actions.  If you wish to keep your limbs and your lives, I recommend you leave, and never return.]**

 

Still taking in ragged deep breaths, Rias hesitantly met the blazing emerald gaze from her kneeling position.

 

“You mean….Nora Purson…Is dead?”  The effort of speaking only made the light headedness stronger as it took a good portion of the oxygen she was able to pull in due to the flood of primal energy surrounding them.

That raised a new revelation in Rias’ mind, and it showed on her face through her wide eyes.  If Nora was Dead..Then the little girl that Sona had seen here was…

 

“The little girl…Is your daughter…Nora’s daughter.”

 

That had been the wrong thing to say.  Rias along with Kiba, Koneko and Akeno went from having trouble breathing to not being able to at all.

 

The roar that enveloped the garden was a mix of the first voice, from the dragons host, and the dragon himself.  And they spoke in unison to the Gremory heiress, issuing their final and only warning.

 

**[“ If I find you anywhere near her, you will find no mercy.  You will welcome death by holy water graciously by the time i’m finished.  Stay. Away. From my Family!”]**

 

The overload to the groups senses had been too much, and they all quickly fainted.  Koneko had been last one to fade into the darkness, and the last thing she remembered seeing was the hamlet pull back, all she could recall was the piercing light brown eyes.

 

 

**-LineBreak-**

 

 

Kuoh Academy was filled with whispers and rumors of what some people had heard coming from the far side of town last night.

 

“It sounded like a lion.”

 

“It shook my house it was so loud.”

 

“It felt so close, I fell into the bath water it scared me so bad.”

 

those were among the conversations by some of the groups gathering in front of the school before classes began.

 

As much as many of the theories differed, they agreed on one thing.

 

 

Whatever it was that made that sound, it was angry, and they needed to stay away from it.

 

While the students and faculty of Kuoh Academy went about their business, four of the students were not sharing conspiracy theories, but instead going over last nights events.

 

Inside the student council office, Sona with her queen were met by Rias and Akeno, the two ORC members looked like they could use a good 14 hour nap.

 

“Rias, what the hell happened last night?  My familiars rushed out of the garden after you and stray entered.”  Sona said to her rival.  True to her word, Sona was alerted once the stray and Rias’ peerage entered the garden they sent word to their master.  But soon after, they fled the area like a frightened animal in the face of a predator.

 

Rias gave a tired sigh, knowing just how Sona was going to take the information she was about to be told.  She’d be angry that such a powerful potential enemy had been hidden here.  And if there was one thing Sona hated, it was unknowns.

 

“The stray was quicker than we anticipated, we caught up to it in the garden.  It managed to injure Akeno and Kiba.  It almost had us in a bad spot, but someone else showed up before it could land another hit.”

 

 

Sona quirked an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she sat back in the chair behind her desk.

 

“And do you know the identity of this other individual?”

 

Rias mimicked Sona’s actions, an old habit from being close friends for the majority of their lives.

 

“His name, no.  Title and relation to the garden….yes.”

 

Her interest piqued, Sona leaned her elbows onto her desk, fingers laced with her chin placed against them.

 

“So who is this individual?  Do you feel we need to set precautions against them?”

 

“I think my peerage and I need to replace what we damaged as a sign of good faith, I hope that will ease any tensions between us.”

 

“Rias…Tell me who this person is.  You know how important the pillar houses are to the underworld.”

 

Rias took a careful deep breath before giving Sona the information.

 

“The stray was killed by the Red Dragon Emperor.”  She paused there, waiting to give the other, and possibly and more important information.

 

Sona’s eyes popped open as wide as her sockets would allow, slammed her hands on her desk as she shot up from her seat.

 

“WHAT?!  YOU MEAN TO TELL ME SOMEONE WITH THE POWER TO LEVEL ENTIRE ARMIES IS HERE TOO?!” She screamed out.  

 

Rias kept her composure, having already expected this response.  Akeno and Tsubaki on the other hand, flinched from the sudden outburst and volume of the Sitri devil.

 

“Sona…There’s more.”

 

“ *sigh*  what else Rias?”

 

Knowing how close Sona was to the brink of what she could handle, Rias decided to just lay everything out on the table quickly, and then deal with whatever aftermath would follow.

 

“Nora’s dead.  The little girl in your video is the daughter of her and the Red Dragon Emperor.”

 

 

**-LineBreak-**

 

 

Koneko walked through the campus grounds having just left their clubroom in the old school building.  A breeze picked up and carried a pleasant, but familiar scent to her sensitive nose.  A scent of a plethora of flowers.  Just like from last night.

 

Turning to face the direction the smell of flowers was coming from, only one figure was in her field of vision.  A brown haired young man about the height Rias had said was in Sona’s video.  He was standing under the tree closest to the old schoolhouse, leaning against it standing, and playing with a pair of rings on a leather string.  But the final confirmation, was those light brown eyes.

 

Even with the neutral expression on his face, Koneko was too far connected to nature to not feel the sadness and longing radiating off of him.  So going against her better judgement, and doing what Rias would probably berate her for later, Koneko walked towards him.

 

He didn’t appear to notice her approach, or maybe he just didn’t care at the moment, as he made no signs of moving his eyes or body from there current position.

 

Stopping a few feet to the side of his peripheral vision, she just stood there a few moments studying him, trying to get a better idea of what had him so lost in thought.

 

“Do you miss her?”  Koneko spoke in her quiet and monotone manner that was typical for her.

 

Those light brown eyes hardened, but didn't move.  If one listened closely, it almost sounded like an angry growl came from his chest, as his teeth were bared.

 

“She was my wife, the mother of my child.  Of course I miss her.”  He spat out venomously.

 

Koneko showed no outward reaction, but took careful notice of the increase in negative energy rising from the young man in front of her.  But was surprised by how easy it was to get him to admit that it was him that they met last night.

 

She decided to push her luck just a little bit further, recalling Rias’ talk with them this morning about making amends.

 

“Will you let us fix the sunflowers, to apolo-“

 

But she was cut off before she finish.

 

“What do you want with her? Why are you looking for Nora now, after two years?”

 

His voice was more controlled, but the distrust and hint of anger were still there.  Koneko the information he’d given away to give to Rias later.

 

“The northern garden last year.  The pillars want to make sure she’s safe.”

 

Koneko rose an eyebrow as a dark chuckle came from his lips, he finally turned towards Koneko, and those piercing light brown eyes almost looked as if an eternal blaze was lit behind them.

 

“ _The Pillars?_ 7 of them are to blame for her death.  I recommend you tell Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri not to share any information with the pillar court….If you value your lives.  They’ll come after you just as they did her.”

 

Koneko was left soaking that in as the young man walked away.  Only then did she realize that she hadn’t asked for his name, although she doubted that he would have freely given it.  But it would be an easy task for them with access to the school records.

The bell for classes to begin rang through the grounds, drawing Koneko from her thoughts.  She wanted to talk to Rias right away, but thought it better to wait, and choose the words she would say after classes carefully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chp 2

Issei spent the entire day, along with most of the walk back home lost in his own thoughts, berating himself for the carelessness he'd displayed in a flare of anger, an emotion that was rare for him to outwardly show. Recent events had that particular emotion popping up more than he'd like.

"Shit…Fuck…Dammit!"

Strings of curses and expletives had been muttered under his breath all throughout school.

As he walked, he switched from cursing himself and the situation in general, to thinking of a way to handle it. If only he had that last piece, the one piece of information that would solidify his claim, and give the ones responsible what they deserved.

He could call in the one favor he had, but he didn't want to think of just what _she_ might do if she found out where he was living. Most likely freeze half the town trying to find him.

Passing by the last bit of forest, a stone pathway met the sidewalk. As Issei passed by it, he froze on the spot.

"What…the.." He whispered.

**[We haven't seen those two in quite a while eh partner?]** Ddraig's voice rumbled throughout Issei's head. To which he only nodded.

To his left, the stones led to the old abandoned church, where he felt an absurd amount of tainted light. The feeling was barely there, concealed by what Issei could only assume was a poorly placed barrier around the church. Poor by his standards at least.

There had to be at least 3 dozen smaller signatures, and 5 larger ones. That in itself was worrisome. A bit more that they just happened to show up now, as he hadn't noticed any presence in the church on his other walks to or from school before. And add to the fact that he recognized 2 of them…

"They have some explaining to do." Issei said more to himself than to his mental resident.

Issei took a deep breath, and made sure to hold in any trace of his presence, not wanting to be followed, or noticed in any way. Then continued on his walk home with a hurried pace.

this new discovery had his mind running at a speed that that would impress even the quickest knights of the underworld. As he came into view of his house, still a few hundred feet away, he'd come up with a plan that would at least ensure that Mari and Anna would stay safe and away from where he was fairly certain something was about to go down.

Walking through the front yard, Issei walked to the backside of the house instead of in the front door, where he could feel Mari waiting to get the jump on him.

Coming to the back, where he had a large fence ten feet tall, to hide the garden that sprouted faster than any normal plants would. Passed the assortment of flowers was a shed that Issei kept locked to keep Mari from getting hold of some very old and some priceless weapons and items.

Closing the shed door behind him and pulling the chain to turn on the lightbulb above him, Issei set his bag down and prepared a communication circle.

A red circle spun to life around his right ear. A dark red outline, with sage green runes embedded into it. The center of the circle was a dragons head, a cross on its forehead and two roses crossing their stems underneath.

Issei felt the connection take hold, and winced as a loud high pitched voice was nearly screaming "MOTHER WHO IS IT WHO IS IT WHO IS IT?!" At that moment he wished he'd used his cellphone instead so he could pull the speaker from his ear to save his eardrums.

A light laughter that Issei remembered his late wife describing as sounding like wind chimes through a gentle breeze came to his ear as the female voice answered the higher pitched one.

"I'm not sure my dear, how about I find out what it is that they need? Why don't you go play in the garden for a little while and i'll join you once I'm done."

Issei heard what sounded like a little girl whining in the background before saying okay and fading away.

"Hello? May I ask who i'm speaking with?" The older female asked. Issei could almost feel the sultry look she undoubtedly had on her face. Issei cleared his throat before responding.

"Hey, it's Issei. The little one's still as excitable as ever huh?" The woman soothing laugh resounded again before she started scolding him.

"Issei, you have some nerve calling me, leaving without even a proper goodbye. My little Kunou was devastated that you didn't tell her either, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Issei shifted, feeling bad about how he'd walked into her room just as she was getting ready for bed, announced they were leaving. And now just over a year later he's calling her out of the blue.

"I'm sorry about that Yasaka. I had to get Mari away, they were moving too close by, and I didn't want my family or any of your people getting hurt. Most of all you or Kunou."

As he felt the imaginary tension alleviate, Yasaka sighed in an overdramatic way, telling Issei that she was going to milk his guilt for all she could get next time they met.

"I suppose I can forgive you-" She started. 'Wait for it..' Issei thought

"After you visit and make it up to me in person." She ended, her voice picking up her usual flirty tone she used with him. 'there it is.' Even when he and Nora were visiting, and already engaged, she'd take any opportunity to try and tempt both of them into her bed. And after a few drinks one night, Nora had dragged them both away to take her up on that offer.

Issei, not wanting to outwardly admit that he would be looking forward to just how she would go about 'forgiving' him, changed the subject.

"Yasaka, I need a favor." His voice stern and holding none of the normal joviality it normally would.

She clearly got the message that this was not a social call. The line fell silent for a moment, the sound of her shifting around the only sign that the connection was still active, Issei took that to mean that Yasaka was now in her leader persona.

"Ise, what's going on?"

**-LineBreak-**

The current scene in the ORC was one that was fairly common. Rias and Akeno had come in before the others, Akeno started preparing tea and snacks for the group. Rias sat at her desk to clear out the paperwork of the day.

When Kiba and Koneko arrived, they took their usual spots. Kiba stood over by the window to the side of the room, reading a book until the meeting started. Koneko sat in her spot on the couch with a stack of candy.

Today however, the little nekomata was eating at a far slower pace.

Once Akeno had placed the tray on the table, Rias had already filed away the forms, and asked a question that had been on her mind for some reason.

"Akeno, who was that boy you spoke with by the tree yesterday?" Her tone was only that of mild curiosity, but it had been bugging her all day, and she couldn't come up with a reason as to why.

Koneko's sensitive ears perked up, eating her candy even slower than she had been, wanting to catch any information she could about the only boy she had ever seen hang out by that tree.

"Hm?" Akeno took on a contemplative look briefly, trying to recall what it was that her king was referring to. When she did, the look in her eyes made Rias almost want to just abandon the question, so she didn't have to deal with the teasing that was about to come her way.

"Oh my fufufu, is our big bad king finally showing interest in the opposite gender?"

Akeno held her hand over her mouth as she chuckled.

Rias crossed her arms under her chest, an action that always made Koneko feel a tinge of jealousy.

"Of course not. I'm merely curious as to what this boy that's caught your recent interest is like. so…spill it. What about him suddenly caught your attention?"

Koneko was now paying very close attention. She hadn't known that Akeno had spoken to him before. So did she know that he was the one from the garden? If so, then why hadn't she told Rias yet.

She also hadn't decided on how to bring up the subject to her peerage members yet, and now was considering holding off just a bit longer to gather more intel.

"Well, he's a second year, and his name is Issei Hyoudou. I've heard whispers about how quiet he is, I assumed that meant he was just shy. But after talking to him, it's more like he's put up this wall, almost as if he doesn't want to be close to anyone here." Akeno told her king. "You know how much I love a challenge fufufu."

Most of the students of Kouh academy would revel in the chance to speak to any of the most popular girls on campus, even some of the more reclusive ones would stammer through stutters and incoherent sentences for the chance.

The devils of Kouh had been long accustomed to the popularity. Rias would ignore the looks sent her way, it was something that she'd dealt with ever since she was young.

Akeno on the other hand took the time to talk to those who would approach her. She enjoyed the feeling of being wanted, the years before she met Rias had left this yearning of being accepted, of being loved. There was no shortage of that for her among the mass of the academy.

So when Akeno walked passed a boy that hadn't so much as looked up from the book in his hand as she walked by, she started to get curious. Had he just not noticed her? Or did he simply not care?

After a few days of the same thing, she discreetly started to pry for information about her new interest. The information she could gather without raising any suspicion was slim to none. Most of the girls she spoke to knew his name, _Issei Hyoudou_. But other than that, the only thing they all knew was that he never said anything more than was necessary.

It wasn't that he was being rude, anyone who'd interacted with him would say the opposite actually. But he just didn't seem to want to have more than a brief conversation with anyone.

The day she finally saw him under the tree, she felt this magnetic pull, something saying that she _needed_ to go and talk to him. As a hybrid of two beings that gave in to their desires, this was not something that she wanted nor had any reason to go against.

And the brief conversation left her wanting more. If they weren't in a situation where her attention was needed, there was no doubt in her mind that she would've already sought him out outside of school grounds. She wanted so badly to unravel the mystery that seemed to be Issei Hyoudou.

"I may just have to meet this boy then. I can't hand my best friend over to just anyone, now can I? But that'll have to wait, we have other matters to attend to."

Rias brought the attention back to herself, ending the current matter, before going back to the business at hand. Which was what to do about Red Dragon and his daughter.

"Akeno and I met with Sona this morning, and we agreed that while we need to learn more about the Red Dragon Emperor and why he's here of all places, we can't afford to turn him into an enemy."

As Rias started, she leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs over one another with her eyes glancing between each of her servants.

"We came to the decision of Sona and I, along with one member of each of our peerages going to the garden to replace the flowers that were destroyed. I have already received the replacements. I made sure to order the flowers that were renowned in the gardens of the Purson territory."

At this point, the sole male in the room raised his hand slightly from his book.

"Buchou, if I may?" Kiba asked.

landing her gaze on her knight, Rias nodded with a smile.

"Of course Kiba, what's on your mind?"

Kiba let his hand drop, both now placed on his lap.

"He was very clear how he felt about us being there. I'm not sure going there again so soon is a good idea."

From her spot on the couch across from Kiba, Koneko thought about that herself.

If he had an issue with devils as a whole, he wouldn't have married one. No, his purpose seemed to be more of a protective one than anything else. If her words with him that morning were any indication, he believed that some of the pillar families had it out for the Purson family.

After she thought about the situation and those involved a little bit more, the picture became clearer. This was the territory of the Gremory _and_ Sitri heirs, long established members of the pillar community. No other family would be able to come here without approval first, and would likely be escorted or watched for the length of their stay. If what Issei had said was true, it was likely that any family who was a part of the Purson murders wouldn't want their presence known. "…But…why?" She accidentally whispered allowed. Thinking of why the pillars would have killed off one of the oldest families among devils.

Her words were quiet, but a devils senses were not to be underestimated, each of the others looked towards the normally silent young girl.

Once Koneko noticed she was being stared at by the others, her heart started to pick up in pace, but her outward appearance was still that of a stoic indifference.

When Koneko didn't answer any of their questioning gazes, Rias asked what was on all of their minds.

" 'Why' What Koneko?"

Even in the presence of those she would call family, Koneko wanted to shrink into the shadows. She was never comfortable with being the center of attention. With her eyes locked onto her Kings, she debated over what to say.

Should she tell the truth? She wasn't sure what kind of reaction that would get, some form of punishment would definitely come her way. And if she lied, there was no doubt that Rias would be able to tell.

Not that she had any interest in romantic pursuits, but Akeno seemed to take a liking to him, so how would hearing what was essentially her romantic target had already threatened her life go?

Koneko could choose to just limit the information she shared, but that was just about as useful as lying in her book. So that really only left one choice. She'd pray for lenient disciplinary action if it wouldn't give her a massive migraine. Resigned to whatever fate had in store, she took a deep breath and began.

"….I….saw him, _here_ , this morning." Her voice came out quiet and meek.

The shocked expressions on her fellow devils faces might have been amusing at any other time, if they weren't directly related to a possible deadly situation.

Rias narrowed her eyes towards her short rook, leaning forward in her chair, elbows on the table and lacing her fingers together just under her nose.

The room remained silent for more than a minute as the crimson haired heiress gathered her thoughts.

Leaning her head back and sighing. she prepared a communication circle. Koneko just looked towards Rias, wondering what she was doing, as Kiba and Akeno both just stared at Koneko still in shock of the revelation.

Rias' circle connected to her chosen recipient.

_"Hello?"_

Sona's voice quietly came through the circle

"Sona. Koneko has information on the Red Dragon Emperor. I'll wait for you in my clubroom before she tells me what happened. I'd like to deal with this quickly."

The circle was quiet for a moment, Sona having been surprised and was unprepared for that.

_"Tsubaki and I are heading over."_

And with that the circle closed its connection.

Rias looked over towards her rook, her face a mix of worry, relief and confusion. Koneko hung her head low, eyes locked on the floor.

"Let's wait for Sona to hear the rest."

Rias seeing the negative reaction of the first year girl, wanted to reassure her that she wasn't angry with her.

"Koneko."

Said girl slowly raised her head towards her master, relaxing a bit at the smile on her face.

"Good job, and i'm glad your safe."

Koneko nodded as silence overtook the room, waiting for Sona to arrive before going over the rest of what Koneko had to say.

It didn't take long, The ORC could feel the flux of Sona's nervous aura from the time she left the main school building.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

"Enter."

At Rias' word, Sona opened the door for herself and Tsubaki, closing it behind them before making their way to stand by Rias' desk.

"Okay Koneko, tell us exactly what happened." Rias requested softly.

And so Koneko did. The group was solely focused on her as she told them what happened. About her catching the same scent of flowers that were in the garden, about the rings on his leather necklace. About his inquiry about why they were asking about Nora now. And how he said 7 pillar families had been the reason for her death.

Those in the room all took it in with varying reactions.

Rias with a frown, it just didn't make sense to her that some of the ones who worked so hard to raise the number of pillar heirs would want some wiped off the map. Her own unwanted arranged marriage cemented that ideal.

Kiba didn't have his usual calm reassuring smile. Now the potential threat wasn't just in the same territory, it was at _his school_. Even in the same hallway his classes were in.

Akeno kept switching between a feeling of terror at how close she came to potential harm, which would then lead to a fantasy of her being tied up and _punished_.

Sona had her usual analytical expression, her arms crossed as she processed what she'd been told. She had met Issei Hyoudou one time, and that was when he saw her in the library one afternoon with a book on chess strategies with an expensive set on the table. He had asked to play a game, and much to her surprise, had actually cornered her with the very strategy she had been reading about. The conversation they had during was exactly as she liked them. Short and to the point, while keeping the proper courtesy, with no meaningless small talk.

She had a better view of him than most other students in the school, and wouldn't mind playing against him again.

Tsubaki kept her stoic appearance, having never met the boy in question in school, nor had she experienced what the Gremory peerage had the other night.

"Rias, I think it's best we slow down and approach this carefully. We should also hold off on reporting this up the chain, should his warning hold any merit."

Sona was the first to break the silence in the room after Koneko's story. Her long time friend and rival turned towards her with a curious expression.

"I agree, what do you suggest? bring him in to meet with us during classes?"

Rias was at a loss of how to proceed. She wanted to make things right and replace the flowers in his garden. She wanted to see Nora's daughter. She wanted to know how he even met Nora in the first place, how she stayed hidden for so long. most importantly, She wanted to know just what he meant with the warning he gave to Koneko. But his threat to them was not to be under estimated.

"I would prefer to meet him on neutral ground, we don't want to make him feel as though we're luring him into a trap, nor do we want to stride into his domain." Sona replied.

Taking a glance at each person in the room, Sona wondered just who would be the best to approach him. No one in her own peerage other than herself had met with him that she knew of. And two of Rias' had at least one interaction with him other than the fight with the stray.

Perhaps if she along with Akeno or Koneko were to talk to him..But it was highly unlikely that Rias would allow that to happen without herself being there as well.

As Sona was going through her thoughts, one of the two on her mind spoke up.

"I think I should be the one to talk to him. I could bring him the seeds tomorrow during lunch, apologize and ask for him to meet with us."

All eyes then went to Akeno, who had recovered from her daydreams, now sporting a serious expression.

Rias was about to shoot that idea down, but caught herself as she pondered on it more.

From what Akeno had said, Issei didn't seem to mind speaking with her. He was polite, if a little short. But should Akeno really approach him alone? if he reacted negatively then Akeno would be in danger. Koneko going along might be a bad idea with his reaction to her this morning. Someone else should be there as well…but who?

"Akeno…Someone else should go with you."

Sona did her best to keep from raising an eyebrow, she was honestly surprised that Rias didn't immediately say that she would go with. She was sure that if Rias thinking further than just the moment at hand, she would want to approach him herself and try to befriend him in hopes of adding him into her peerage…That's what she would do if she had Rias' marriage issue.

"I'll go." Sona said in her typical student persona.

When the glances she was getting didn't seem to understand why she should volunteer, she elaborated.

"I've met Hyoudou before. We played a game of chess in the library. I wasn't involved in the garden mishap, so I believe i'm in the best position to help."

Rias could release a deep sigh and nod her head.

"Very well, I agree."

**-LineBreak-**

The setting sun painted the sky with a blue bleeding into orange as Issei laid in the hammock set up between two trees in his back yard. His eyes were closed as he enjoyed the breeze blowing through.

Mari had forgone her usual nap today, so after one round of hide and seek, they went to the back yard to water the garden together. After which she curled up on his chest and had quickly fallen asleep to the rhythm of his breathing and heart beating, her smiling face as he stroked her hair would have been a perfect image….If only she weren't drooling all over his red T-shirt.

He had to keep himself from laughing as he remembered a scenario that was almost identical to this, just before Nora told him she was pregnant. He'd been wondering why she had been so clingy recently….Not that he minded, he actually enjoyed the moments where she just wanted to be in physical contact.

They'd only been married for a little over a month at the time. He'd still been on cloud nine ever since, having married this loving, compassionate, endlessly energetic young woman that seemed to have no end the her strange quirks.

Laying in a hammock just off the beach on Peter Island, one of the British Virgin Isles. A drink in a coconut sat on the table just out of reach. He didn't dare move, lest he disturb Nora who had her arms wrapped around his waist, her head on the center of his chest….And drooling more than he thought ever possible.

Issei was brought from his memories from the quiet sound of the sun room door closing. Glancing over he saw Anna approaching the father daughter duo, looking at them with a smile that tried to hide the envy she felt deep down.

He felt a stab of pain every time he saw that look, he knew that he was causing it. Anna wanted a child of her own, and no matter how much she loved Mari, it just wasn't the same. Her particular species had a hard time conceiving outside of their mating season, and Anna had a much harder time due to the harsh years before meeting Issei and Nora.

The short skirt that barely reached mid thigh was accompanied by a sway in her hips that was _entirely_ too enticing, something he couldn't act on with Mari asleep on top of him. Issei knew that she was trying to goad him into dragging her to bed, and giving her what her instincts were screaming at her for. Even more so that tomorrow they would be leaving for an unknown amount of time, more than likely returning _after_ her mating period had passed.

Anna stood next to Issei's head, bending down to give him a look down her low cut yellow shirt. he saw the lacy black bra she had on before feeling her hand on his cheek tilting his head towards her. Closing the already small distance between them she pressed her lips to his. As she pulled away she whispered so she didn't wake Mari.

"Dinner will be done in 15, steak tacos."

Mari's eyes shot open as she lifted her head up, wiping the drool trailing down the side of her face. She immediately locked eyes with Anna.

"Tacos?" She asked with an dreamy tone.

Anna smiled and nodded to her surrogate daughter.

Mari started to nearly vibrate in excitement, her sleepy state completely forgotten. She only lasted a few seconds before jumping from the hammock and jumping into Anna and giggling. Of all the foods that Issei and Anna had cooked for the little hybrid, tacos seemed to be her all-time favorite…so far… Some of the things a 3 year old claims as their favorite seem to change hourly.

Issei couldn't hold back the laughter as he watched his daughter cling to Anna telling her how much she loved her for making tacos for dinner. If there was one thing that Mari had inherited from him…it was the love of food. Mexican in particular.

**-LineBreak-**

Waking up the next morning proved to be a much more difficult task than normal, Anna had made sure to make her time with Issei count before leaving for Kyoto. They had fallen asleep after round three around midnight, but then she woke him up the best way possible, his eyes had slowly opened to see Anna already mounted on top of him.

And just a few minutes before his alarm clock would wake him, Mari came running full speed into his room and jumping onto his bed, shouting her excitement at going to see 'Aunt Yasaka' and Kunou.

Well…At least she was happy about it. Issei on the other hand, was struggling with sending her away from him. What decent parent would enjoy being away from the child for an undetermined amount of time.

But he managed to reason with himself that it was for Mari and Anna's safety. The fallen in the area may not directly be connected to the ones searching for Nora, but they would not likely pull any punches being that she was half devil. And word was sure to spread fast should her existence be spread.

Standing in the entrance of the house, Issei was dressed in his school uniform. Anna and Mari were standing side by side and holding hands with a duffel bag for each of them stuffed to the brim with clothes.

Kneeling down, Issei hugged Mari, which she greatly enjoyed and reciprocated. He wanted to just stay like that all day, but unfortunately he had a schedule to keep to. He also had to deal with the fact that he'd revealed himself to the devils, and then he needed to find out what exactly the fallen were here for.

"You behave for Anna and Yasaka alright Mari?" Issei said as he let go of her and stood back up to full height.

Mari nodded animatedly with a wide and bright smile. "Yes Daddy!"

smiling down to her, he ruffled her hair a bit, making her pout and place her hands on her head to smooth it out.

Looking up to the clock, Issei saw that he had to leave in the next three minutes if he wanted to make it to school on time. His smile faltered a bit. Soft hands on either cheek brought his sight over to Anna, and after a quick kiss rested her forehead against his.

"Bring us home quick."

After he nodded, she stepped back and retook Mari's hand, and then in a flash of red and green they were both gone.

"*sigh* guess I need to leave too."

After locking the door behind him, he made his way towards the academy. He couldn't help but feel that time was going to feel extremely sluggish until Mari and Anna could come home.

**-LineBreak-**

True to his belief, school had been dragging on and on. and it was now only lunch time.

As he sat down placing his lunch on his lap, he pulled his vibrating phone from his pocket, where he noticed an email with two attachments.

His eyebrow raised as he noticed the sender, someone he hadn't seen or heard from in just under 2 years.

-Sender - Leighton James

_Yo Ise! Long time since I've heard from you. I'll keep it brief._

_Y'know those lyrics Nora recorded forever ago? well…after everything that happened, we'd like your blessing to use those in our album, as a way to pay tribute to her. I've sent the song we made with it._

_On to less pleasant news. We ran into Kali about a week ago in Toronto, we managed to get her to talk after a few dozen drinks. If you're still in Japan, I think you should pay her a visit in a town called Kuoh. Apparently the crew she got sold into is under orders from Kokacunt. She gave me a drive with a document she swiped, said that you were looking for it._

_Well that's all for me. Hope to hear from you and the little one soon._

_Your buddy, Leighton._

Issei could feel his breath hitch in his throat. While the first part of the message brought a warmth to his soul, the second part made him very nervous. This could be the final piece of the puzzle.

If it was, he'd finally be on the path to giving him and his family the life he'd wanted. But he couldn't get his hopes up just yet. And so he clicked on the smaller of the attachments, watching it download felt like watching grass grow. He knew it was going at a normal pace, but it felt like his anxiousness was altering his perception of time.

As soon as it finished, it opened up, he noticed it was a transcript from a meeting.

The top had the organization name, date and place. Underneath it had who was in attendance.

"I can't believe he was _this_ stupid…Leaving a paper trail of a terrorist group…"

Issei whispered to himself as he read through the names on the list. There were plenty that he had no knowledge of, but that wasn't really important. His eyes locked onto the names he was looking for.

Creuserey Asmodeus

Katerea Leviathan

Shalba Beelzebub

Diodora Astaroth

Euclid Lucifuge

Leonora Oriax

Griffin Zagan

Kokabiel

Raux

Reading through the transcript of the meeting gave Issei some interesting revelations. One being that the family of Rias Gremory, the warden of where he was currently living, had been a victim of this groups ploys.

If the information on the document could be trusted, the Khaos Brigade as they called themselves, had negotiated with a member of the Phenex clan for an under the table supply of phoenix tears. In return, when the Old Satan Faction of the Khaos brigade took control of the underworld, The Phenex house would receive an increase in rank along with the Gremory Heiress to marry into their house.

'But how did they pressure her family into accepting the marriage…' Issei wondered. He'd heard from Nora while they were traveling in the underworld, that the engagement had been in place for at least 5 years now. And he knew for certain that the underworld was still led by the leaders of the rebellion from the devil civil war.

Continuing through the transcript, it seemed to devolve into an argument about how the current leaders of the underworld are nothing but impostors and how the great war should have never ended. Which led to Kokabiel voicing his opinion for the first time in this dialogue, seemingly just to agree that the war should reignite, and with or without their help, he would restart the great war. Saying killing members of the satans families should suffice. After which he left.

Finally after what seemed like pages upon pages of that argument, he saw something that made him quickly scroll back up to the top to look at the date of the meeting. His eyes widening as the pieces fell into place. The meeting this document was about had taken place just over 7 years ago.

An excursion of the Old Satan Faction had wandered on the borders of devil and fallen angel lands to exchange weapons, tomes, and pheonix tears. This border was in the control of the Purson family. The current head of the Purson clan had been wandering the gardens, and had spotted the strange gathering of people and materials on his lands.

The fallen angel Raux, and Euclid Lucifuge raised the opinion that this family needed to eliminated, lest their plans be made known before they were ready.

After a unanimous vote to wipe the Purson family out, the meeting concluded.

Issei leaned his head back against the tree, taking deep breaths to calm his erratic pulse. He now had what he needed as a starting point, he just had to decide who to bring this information to. It needed to be someone trustworthy, someone who would investigate into the matter further. There was no way to bring a conviction from this information alone, it needed to be verified. But that was something to be dealt with later.

Deciding to bask in the thought that he was so close to not fearing for Mari's life, Issei plugged the headphones into his phone and opened the other attachment, eager to hear the melodious voice of his wife once again.

And as the song began, and he heard her voice, all of his problems seemed to melt away as a sense of peace flooded over him.

**-LineBreak-**

Akeno and Sona had met in the office of the student council just after the lunch bell rang. Akeno had already received the seeds that Rias had ordered in.

Both of them were feeling nervous about what they were about to do. While Issei Hyoudou had never been antagonistic towards them at school before, the recent events could have changed that. But they would still do as they had talked about, and so they made their way out of the building and towards the tree that he seemed to enjoy being under so much.

Neither Akeno nor Sona had said a word as they walked the grounds, both lost in thought of just how to start the conversation.

Turning the last corner they caught sight of their destination, and with it, the person they were looking for, and both of them stopped on the spot.

Akeno took the first step, continuing towards him. Issei was sitting against the tree, his legs crossed over one another, looking like he was taking a nap. His eyes were closed and he give the impression that he had noticed their approach.

As Akeno got within 20 feet of him, she saw the headphones he had in his ears, and the peaceful yet sad smile he had on his face. As the cloud overhead cleared and the sun shined down on the grounds, Akeno saw the glistening of a single tear roll down his face.

Instantly she thought of turning around, and trying this again another day, don't poke the dragon as the saying goes.

As she stood there, she watched as he wiped it away with one hand. His left eye opened and made contact with hers.

Akeno was glad that his expression hadn't changed at seeing her and Sona, who was a few feet behind. He patted the spot next to him with his hand, silently asking for her to sit next to him. Hesitantly, she complied.

She took the steps lightly and slowly, watching Issei's face and mannerisms for any negative changes, until she stood next to him. She lowered herself to the ground beside him, legs curled to the side and leaning her body closer towards him as she had the day before.

She waited for Issei to say something, or make any sort of move. After a good two minutes she was about to speak, unsure if he would be able to even hear her with those headphones in.

Just as the words were about to leave her lips, Issei reached up and removed one side on the earbuds and gestured for Akeno to take it and put it in her ear.

"Listen. Then we'll talk." He said softly.

Placing the piece in her ear, she watched as Issei adjusted the volume and restarted the song he had been listening to.

Meanwhile Sona watched the interaction curiously, wondering just what he could be listening to that had produced such an emotional response. She walked over to stand to the side in front of Akeno, and waited until they were done.

Akeno heard a few static taps on what sounded like a drums snare, and a strum of a harp as the song started. The soft voice of a young woman filled the ear piece.

_Bright lights, I can't really see right._

_Cold Eyes, to hide what it feels like._

_They take from me, what I need from you._

_Fast steps, to find my back to_

_Your love, we're due for a comeback_

_I get from them, what I give to you_

_Please take me back to, a dream_

_Where miles away a place is never seen_

_Show me the wonders above. Cause I don't need your favour just your love._

Akeno watched Issei's face as they listened to the song. It wasn't something she'd ever listened to, as she wasn't much of a fan of Dance music. But for some reason still unknown to her, Issei looked as if he was completely lost in it. His eyes were closed, and looked so at peace. Like nothing else in the world mattered.

As the song drew to a close, Issei opened his eyes, and looked over to Akeno. He could feel that she was watching him, but he just couldn't himself to care at that moment. He took the headphones and placed it back into his pocket, then turned to relieve some of Akeno's curiosity.

"That was Nora singing."

Akeno's eyes widened considerably, of all the possible things she'd considered to happen when she spoke to him today, this was _not_ on the list. He'd just shared something with her that was probably very personal and special to him. When she couldn't bring herself to say anything, he chuckled and started the conversation for her.

"I assume you're here because of what I said to Koneko?"

Sona had been just as surprised at what Issei had shared with Akeno, but kept her mask up, she couldn't afford to be moved from their reason of being here in front of him. When he asked his question, Sona stepped in and took over the conversation for Akeno.

"Yes, we are."

Issei turned his head towards the student council president and nodded.

"Nice to speak to you again Kaichou, i'm looking forward to our next game of chess." He said with the smile never leaving.

Sona was glad that she couldn't detect any malice in his words or body language, it would make this whole thing a lot easier if it stayed that way.

"I am as well, you're one of the most formidable opponents i've ever had in chess. But i'm afraid I must stick to the business at hand."

Issei nodded once again and gestured with his hand for her to continue.

"After the incident at the garden-" Sona started, and noticed the slight anger that appeared on his face. "Rias wanted to apologize. She ordered replacement seeds that were harvested in the Purson territory. I'm sure that, if she had known of its purpose, she would have lured the stray elsewhere."

The mention of the garden brought Akeno out of her daze, she reached into her bag and grabbed the small bag of seeds, the bag itself only being as big as her palm. She gently took one of Issei's hands in hers and placed the bag in them.

"I'm the one who damaged it, I can only imagine what seeing that must have made you feel. I hope you can forgive us." Akeno said, her eyes locked onto where their hands were still touching.

Issei looked over to Akeno, slightly tightening his grip on her hand before releasing and taking the seeds. He was still a little upset that the flowers had been cut, but he could understand that in the heat of the moment, the safety of the living was more pressing than a memorial.

"I appreciate the gesture. So…when and where? Is now a good time?" he asked as he gave Sona his attention once more, trying to get to the main point he knew they were aiming at.

Both Akeno and Sona were a little taken back by his question.

"Pardon?" Sona questioned, not understanding if he was referring to the garden still.

Issei let out a sigh, he knew they were going to ask for a meeting to go into details that should not be shared with the general populace. But he had a knack for jumping ahead of people and losing them in the process.

"I assume you wanted to have a meeting between you Rias and myself, right?" Issei asked with a slight tilt to his head.

A wave of relief washed over both Sona and Akeno, that had been far easier than anticipated. The lunch break still had 45 minutes left, plenty of time to go over what they wanted to know, and they both knew that the other members of Rias' peerage were in the club room at this very moment. Sona would just have to call for Tsubaki, seeing no need to gather her entire peerage.

"That works, I'll have my queen accompany me, and i'll meet you in Rias' clubroom."

"No." Issei's voice was stern.

there was a slight pressure emanating from Issei now, putting both Akeno and Sona on edge. Akeno moved herself another foot away from Issei and made to stand up and stand by Sona.

Sona only slightly flinched at the sudden change, quickly regaining her composure. With her arms crossed, and a voice as neutral as she could muster she asked.

"I don't understand, 'no' to which part?"

Issei stood, placing his hands in his pockets to show he wasn't going to make any sudden movements after he saw Sona and Akeno's reactions.

"I'll agree to meeting with _you_ and _Rias only._ What you decide to share with each of your respective peerages afterwards is your decision."

Issei than looked to Sona with a gaze that said that this was not a meeting for people who had no knowledge of prior events, and that he would not be explaining any more than was necessary.

"I assume this is regarding you're warning?" Sona spoke, mimicking Issei's tone and expression. Seeing what Issei was willing to share with Akeno only a moment prior, left her with a foreboding feeling that he had information that should _not_ be common knowledge.

At his nod, she sighed, a feeling in her gut telling her that this day just became a lot more complicated. "Very well. Lets be on our way then."

**-LineBreak-**

The way to their meeting in the ORC started off silent, with Akeno and Sona not really knowing what to say, or how to go about doing it. But they each had a litany of things they wanted to ask, so many that were on the edge on their tongue, but weren't sure if it would be considered too personal or cross some boundary they weren't aware of.

"Issei, did Nora make song on her own?" Akeno asked, once she felt she found a question that felt safe enough.

Issei and Akeno were following just behind Sona towards the old school building. He took a thoughtful look before answering.

"The lyrics were all her. She recorded them about…5 years ago I think. We befriended a pair of Canadian Dj's a few months before that when we spent a few days in Montreal." His eyes went to Sona's back, seemingly analyzing her body language as they were about to enter the building.

"They held onto the recording, and just recently put that song together, said they wanted my permission to put it on their next album as a tribute to her." Issei finished as he brushed his fingers along one of the rings on the leather string around his neck, eyes still glued to Sona.

His mind was filing every little shift and twitch she made. He could feel that while Akeno genuinely wanted to make up for the other night, Sona was a more complicated matter.

His previous encounter with her in the school library was enough time to get a good read on her mannerisms. While he guessed that she would like a friendly relationship between him and the devils of the area, she had an air about her that made him think that she wanted to twist this relationship for her own gain if she could. That was something to look out for, a favor from a devil could quickly lead down a murky path if you weren't careful.

"What were you doing in Canada if you don't mind my asking?" Akeno said, bringing him back to reality.

"Nora and I liked to travel, never staying in one place for too long, doing odd-jobs as we went. One of our things, was to go to a concert of some sort in whatever city we happened to be in. We met a few names that are actually pretty big worldwide."

The trio turned the corner after climbing the stairs to the second floor, where the ORC room was. Walking down the hall, the wooden double doors came into view.

"I wouldn't have imagined you to be so well traveled. Oh, we're here." Akeno said.

She walked to the front of the group and knocked on the door twice.

**KNOCK KNOCK**

A few moments of silence permeated the air around them, before the call to enter came, when it did Akeno turned the handle and opened to the door for Sona and Issei to enter ahead of her.

Issei looked around the room as he walked over the threshold, taking in its victorian style. He preferred the atmosphere heavy wood gave a room, compared to the metal and glass that modern culture seemed to take a liking to.

The dark wood was nicely complimented by the dark red furniture, the two couches with a coffee table in between. And the large desk towards the back.

Issei took in the sight of the room that so many of his schoolmates had tried to gain entry to. After he did, he switched to the three other occupants. He noticed that two of them had their surprise and confusion written all over their faces. The blonde male off to the side by the window with a book in his hand, and the Red head sitting at the desk with a few papers in hand.

The other occupant, Koneko, had her hand pinching her nose closed and her eyes narrowed towards Issei. When he saw her reaction, it took a few seconds before the realization dawned on him. How could he have forgotten something like that?

He knew exactly what Koneko was, a rare breed of Nekomata, a Nekoshou. So her sense of smell was leagues above the others, only slightly greater than his own. And as soon as the door had been opened, he knew that she could smell what him and Anna had been up to last night. But it went beyond that.

Anna's mating period had started, aside from her hormones flooding her system, her body would also subconsciously mark her intended mate. It wasn't a physical mark, it was a mixing of energies between the two.

The intended mate would emit a scent that would ward off other Youkai or animal like creatures. The heavy smell of sex saying that 'this one is claimed'. It was also much more noticeable to ones own species.

"heh heh, the shower didn't help much did it?" Issei chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

The others in the room all rose an eyebrow as Koneko slowly and sternly shook her head. The rest were clearly missing something in the interaction between Issei and Koneko, but no one brought it up. During their brief conversation, Sona had moved over to speak quietly to Rias at her desk, informing her that the meeting was requested to be right now.

"Ahem" Rias cleared her throat as she stood from her desk.

"It's nice to formally meet you Issei Hyoudou, I'm Rias Gremory, these are my servants. My Queen Akeno Himejima, Knight Kiba Yuuto, and rook Koneko Toujou." Rias gestured to each member as she listed their names, who had all positioned themselves to the side of the couch Koneko had just been sitting on.

"Pleasure to meet you all as well. I am Issei Hyoudou, Current host of the Welsh Dragon." Issei said with a bow, and sent a small pulse of Dragonic power out, a form of greeting that dragons had adopted several millennia ago. The pulse of energy caught the devils off guard, tensing briefly from it, then relaxing as it receded.

Issei took a few steps forward to the center of the room, his gaze straight towards Rias and Sona who were standing side by side next to her desk.

"Lady Gremory, before we go any further, I would like to relay my terms for our meeting." His tone was mature and professional.

Rias glanced over to Sona briefly, once their eyes met, Sona merely nodded to accept this and hear him out.

"Very well, please continue." She said as she returned her attention to Issei.

"I request that the only ones present for our meeting to be you, Lady Sitri, and myself. I have not kept up to date with what is common knowledge through the general population of the underworld. I do not want to be held responsible for spreading classified or guarded information. After the meeting, what you share with your peerage is your decision." The request Issei stated, only made her both more curious and cautious of the young man standing in front of her.

In the end, her curiosity won, and she nodded her acceptance.

"Very well, is there anything else before we begin?"

"More of an inquiry on my part. Which of the Satans is in charge of foreign affairs?" As the words left his lips, his eyes wandered over to Sona. Looking at her as if he already knew the answer, but just wanted confirmation.

Under his gaze, Sona started to feel the anxiety build from whenever the person he was asking about was near her. Her older sister, Serafall Leviathan, was the one in charge of foreign affairs. Serafall was rather eccentric, often acting like an energetic child dressed up in magical girl clothes.

Sona loved her sister…but there's only so much a person can take. And Serafall seemed to push those boundaries every time they saw each other, with how affectionate she liked to be. Some of the things that Serafall would say, could be borderline incestuous.

Shaking her head lightly, Sona looked back to Issei, who was still looking at her expectantly.

" *Sigh* my…sister. Serafall Leviathan…But you already knew that, didn't you?" Sona spoke in a defeated tone as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Issei shook his head. "I suspected as much, wasn't sure about the familial relation, but You two look too much alike, among other things that clued me in."

Issei tapped his nose meaningfully, causing Sona's face to flush a bright red, and her eyes to dart side to side quickly. Issei clamped his right hand over his mouth to hold back his laughter at her reaction. Even their embarrassed reactions were similar.

Issei put his hand in his pocket to pull out his cellphone. Opening it up and quickly scrolling through his contacts. Both Rias and Sona had escorted the members of the ORC to the door, getting ready to begin the meeting, only to both look at Issei confused as to why he seemed to be sending a message to someone at what was to be an important meeting.

After typing a good sized paragraph message, Issei closed his phone and put it back in his pocket. Seeing both watching him curiously he smiled.

"So, should we get started?"

Rias gestured to the couches, and Issei took a seat on the one with his back to the window. Once Rias and Sona were seated on the opposite side they began their meeting.

Being that this was her domain, Rias started the conversation.

"Issei Hyoudou. I suppose the first thing we should know, is what are doing _here?"_

Issei relaxed into his seat, ready to get this underway.

"This town is where I was born, But other than sentimental value. This town is as good a place as any to ensure the safety of my family."

"You're referring to the fact that this town is the territory of not one, but two pillar heirs? So if the ones you spoke of in your warning through Koneko were to come here, not only would they be stepping on Shinto ground, but would face dire consequences if we didn't know they were here." Sona said as she crossed her arms and legs, also somewhat relaxing in her seat beside Rias.

Nodding to the Sitri heir, Issei confirmed.

"Exactly. The people who killed Nora…have been trying to keep themselves hidden, for now at least. In fact, if I wasn't absolutely sure that your families had no direct part in their plan, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Rias glanced over to Sona for a brief moment, before returning her attention to Issei.

"Who exactly are you talking about?"

Issei lost the small smile he had on his face.

"The Old Satan Faction."

**END**

**I'll stop this here.**

**The lyrics were a song by adventure club called dreams.**

**Til next time! =]**


	3. Chp 3

**_Two years ago - Amsterdam -_ **

_Issei walked along with his wife and their….friend, as Nora carried their 1 year old daughter Mari._

_Issei kept stealing glances at his wife, unable to help himself._

_For as long as he could recall, she had always been beautiful. Nora had grown out her light brown hair, now down to her mid back versus the shoulder length when they'd met. He could look into those emerald eyes of hers for hours, filled with such life. Full pink lips. After getting pregnant, her breasts had swelled from their handful size to a bra busting Double D. Narrow waist, shoulder width hips. And legs for days. His perfect woman. And praise be to whoever led him to her, his wife._

_Their friend, Anna, was the name she wanted to go by. When they picked her up, she didn't have one. She only had a number, a number that marked her as someones property instead of her own person._

_It was quite the transformation that she'd undergone in the 8 months since. At first, she was reclusive, twitchy, easy to scare. It reminded him of the stray cats you'd see in the alleys of any major city across the world._

_Now, while she still didn't talk much, she was visibly happy. It did his heart some good to see that. She laughed with them, never seemed to be forcing herself to be in their presence._

_They were walking back to their hotel in Amsterdam, after meeting with a financial friend of theirs to set up a nice sized account for Mari._

_That wasn't the only reason they came here, but it was the most important. They were also going to the Meibock festival. And Nora was outrageously excited to taste as much of the seasonal beers as she could, even though no matter how many she had, her constitution wouldn't falter. She just enjoyed the taste._

_They were walking along a sidewalk in a park that was about a mile from their hotel._

_"Girly, I love you dearly, but your messing with my hand holding time with your father." Nora whispered with a pout towards the sleeping Mari._

_Issei only chuckled and moved over to her other side and reached out to grab her hand. Nora smiled at him in thanks._

_"Better?" He asked._

_"Much."_

_The sun was setting as they walked, the sky with its orange hue giving the pond nearby a fiery look as it rippled from the ducks swimming._

_"Anna, why didn't you let us set up an account for you too?" Nora looked passed her husband towards the almost always silent Nekoshou._

_They both thought it was a little strange that she'd refused. Both Nora and Issei looked at her as she tried to look away, but could feel their gazes firmly locked onto her._

_"I have more than I need. You two are my masters, yet you treat me like family." Anna answered in her typical soft, almost whisper._

_Issei frowned, he hated that term._

_"We talked about this Anna. We took out that ring of slavers, you can be free any time you want. Just say they word. We only did what we did to get close enough to end their operation. After what we saw with Kali, we weren't about to let it slide."_

_The nekoshou gave them a heartfelt smile. This was why she never felt the need to leave, they cared for her. They didn't use her as the slave she had been made into. They nurtured her back to health, gave her everything she needed and wanted._

_"I don't feel like a slave. If it makes you both feel better, it would give me a little protection if someone wanted to re-enslave me."_

_After thinking about it for a moment, they couldn't entirely disagree. The magical enchantments used to enslave to supernatural species wouldn't allow someone to take her away from them._

_"Well okay…If you're sure. BUT! If you ever change your mind, you let us know, okay?" Nora wanted it known that she could always take her life into her own hands._

_Just as Anna nodded back, they all froze on the spot. The feeling of magic being activated washed over the area. A light purple shimmer brought a dome over the majority of the park._

_An Isolation Barrier._

_Issei let go of Noras hand as all of their eyes and senses scanned the area._

_"Anna, take Mari and hide yourselves." Nora ordered. Gone was the playful, happy young woman. Now she was a fighter, a warrior that had proven to many an opponent not to underestimate her just because of her gender._

_Anna didn't hesitate. She knew better then to argue with them. After what she had seen when they freed her, it was obvious how powerful they were. And while she was no pushover, her masters were on an entire different level._

_Anna took the sleeping girl into her arms and stepped away, coating herself with an illusion. She hid in the tree line just at the edge of their sight, to watch whatever would unfold._

_Setting herself on a large tree branch, she caught sight of a group flying in towards Issei and Nora._

_The group was unknown to Issei and Nora, but they could tell that they were devils._

_an initial group of ten approached. None of them seeming to be of any significance in terms of power, but 10 against 2 meant they had to play it safe if things escalated._

_"So the runaway finally shows herself." The one standing in front of them said._

_When neither Issei or Nora said anything, the man took that as a sign to continue._

_"you hid yourself well. Anytime we caught a hint of where you were, by the time our people got there, you were already gone. We'll finally be able to tie up the loose end five years after the fact." He postured like a cheesy movie villain, his ego clearly far bigger than it should be._

_A woman with black hair that was streaked with green on her bangs stepped forward. An irritated frown on her face._

_"Now is not the time, Zagan."_

_The name made Issei instantly know who they were in front of. There was only one known person left with that name. Griffin Zagan. A member of the old satan faction that had been a part of the group to flee to the edges of the underworld._

_"Leonora Oriax, I am the commander of this squad. You are in no place to lecture me."_

_And there was another, why were the heirs of two old devil families here, and why now? They hadn't been in Amsterdam long enough to be found._

_"Whatever. After we're done here, we'll….discuss about your future leadership."_

_And with that, they turned back to their two opponents._

_"And just who is this that you have with you Nora Purson?" Griffin Zagans voice was as smug as Issei'd ever heard. He thought they'd already won._

_"None of your Fucking business. Stupid fucking cock nuzzlers just had to ruin a good day didn't you?" Nora growled._

_'My wife everybody. Body of a goddess. Mouth of a sailor.' Issei thought to himself. But, in all honesty he loved that part of her. There was no guessing how she felt, because she told you._

_They both shifted into a fighting stance, ready to get this over with._

_The group in front of them mirrored it, the OSF members took the first move, all of them darting towards the duo._

_"Armor?" Issei whispered to Nora as they closed the gap._

_"Not worth it." She answered. Revealing himself as the Red Dragon Emperor would not be a good idea, just in case they were able to alert whatever allies they had nearby._

_"Right. Fire and Gravity it is then." Two of his three only magical talents. The third wasn't suited for fighting. The gravity magic was quite a surprise to both of them, as very few beings were able to even use the smallest bits of it. But Issei….His control was almost to the same level as his fire. Which was easy for him thanks to his sacred gear._

_The group was about 15 feet in front of them, when Issei raised his right hand._

_"cwympiadau disgyrchiant" His voice was hardly above normal speaking volume._

_There was a palpable pulse in the air as the old welsh command came to be._

_The area the group was running into now had a gravity as dense as jupiter, 317 times greater than earths._

_The first two of the ten grunts fell, they must have been some of the weaker in the group. They hardly had time to scream for a brief half a second as their insides were crushed from the pressure. Their heads snapped forward, too far to be a natural position, the cervical vertebrae of their spines pushing against the skin._

_four more fell to the ground, and were having trouble getting to their knees. The two heirs seemed to only be having a little trouble moving. Both of the other two that had stayed back were now using magic circles to call for help, seeing the danger this pair would put their plans in._

_Issei lifted the gravity spell, not wanting to wear himself out too much. Nora was already preparing her own magic._

_With a magic circle at the tips of her hands, which were held out to the side. She brought both hands together in a clap just above eye level._

_The ground splintered, sharp pointed pillars of bedrock skewered three of the people in front of them._

_Issei took to the offensive as Nora stayed a bit behind to deal with any that made it passed him. Their typical fighting positions, since Issei was a sponge for physical punishment. And while she wasn't made of glass, Nora wasn't as sturdy._

_Issei coated a fist in flames as he reached his first opponent, drawing it back to hit the man under the jaw to launch him in the air._

_His opponent, a bit taller than himself, was prepared to block. But just before the hit connected, Issei's fist was forced to the side by a blast of ice._

_Issei snapped his head towards where the ice came from and snarled, a much more feral sound and appearance than any human, devil or angel could reproduce._

_He saw the Zagan heir standing with that smug look of superiority._

_Not wanting to take chances, Issei repeated his gravity well on Griffin Zagan. He was confident that with the power displayed by their attackers, that he could deal with the grunts without any trouble._

_Zagan fell to the ground, feeling twice the pressure of before._

_Issei went back to his fight that had been interrupted._

_"No more Fucking around." Issei proclaimed as he coated both fists in the green flame._

_The other three had grouped together to take him on at the same time. 3 vs 1 they rushed at each other._

_Issei raised the heat on his hands as high as he could, ready to cut through them like a hot knife through butter._

_The first made the mistake of trying to block, and both of his arms were sliced at the forearm. A spin with his other hand raised, and Issei cut through the nerves and tendons in his neck, the mans head holding a look of disbelief as it fell to the ground._

_A green glow came from behind Issei, thinking it was Nora's magic he ignored it until these other two were dealt with._

_The grunts rushed forward, one just to each of his sides._

_Issei stood his ground, preparing himself for a mid range attack to catch them off guard._

_His arms in an 'X' above his head he brought them down with a powerful swipe, sending an arc of fire forward._

_"Now Leonora!" Issei's head snapped back as he heard Zagan yell out._

_His heart stopped at what he saw._

_ten more people had shown up and joined the fight, all of them putting Nora on the defensive._

_Zagan had somehow gotten off a lucky shot of ice onto Nora's left leg, encasing it up to her knee and keeping her in place._

_Leonora gave a triumphant smirk as her palm was outstretched and released a beam of red an white energy that radiated almost as much heat as Issei at his best._

_"Nora MOVE!" Issei called out, trying to get to her in time. But not even his enhanced speed was enough._

_Just as the ice broke, the beam pierced through her chest at a downward angle, running through her completely and into the ground._

_Seeing her fall broke all restraint Issei had about holding anything back._

_They would pay._

_Issei caught her just before her head hit the dirt. She was gasping in pain, her eyes clenched tightly shut._

_He looked at the wound, a fist sized hole, burned through and cauterized, no extra blood loss. But its position was worrisome._

_Mid left breast angling down towards the center. Through her left lung and heart._

_There was no magic in the world he was aware of that could fix this._

_Nora opened her eyes, her right eye now bloodshot from the heat being too much for her blood vessels._

_"Kill them. Save Mari." She wheezed._

_Issei didn't respond, but his entire body was_ **_burning_ ** _with rage. He would end this. Now._

_Placing her head down gently, Issei stood up and activated the boosted gear as he walked towards the ones who had just taken one of the two greatest things to come into his life._

**_[BOOST!]_ **

**_[Partner, are you sure about this?]_ **

**_"Yes."_ **

_That was all that needed to be said between spirit and host._

_Issei held his arms to the side as he started to chant, his mind going blank as the power seeped through him._

**_"[ I, who shall awaken.]"_ **

_A wind that shouldn't have been present whipped through the area underneath the barrier._

**_"[ Am the Heavenly Dragon who has stolen the principle of Domination from God.]"_ **

_Inchorent whispers of vengeance and domination coming to the ears of everyone._

**_"[I laugh at the infinite, and I grieve at the dream.]"_ **

_The wind spiraled around Issei as he finished his chant for power._

**_"[ I shall become the Red Dragon of Domination. And I shall sink you to the depths of the Crimson Purgatory!]"_ **

**_"[Juggernaut Drive!]"_ **

_The only thing that Issei could think or feel was Nora. How strong she normally was. She_ never _showed pain. The anguish on her face just a moment ago showed how much she was feeling._

_Anytime he'd touch her, she would hold him right back. But she hadn't even moved when he held her. He didn't think she could._

_She was passive whenever she could be, never wanting to resort to violence if another option was available. But she called for their deaths in no uncertain terms._

_The screams that reached his ears weren't recognized, the smell of burning flesh was ignored. The feel of his enemies blood dripping down his armor covered arms forgotten._

_He was lost. Lost in a sea of burning hate._

_Its waves dragging him back in whenever he tried to think of the light of his life._

_The undertow pulling him further and further into the fire._

_"Ise.."_

_her voice doused the fire, stilled the raging waters, dispersed the darkness._

_And his armor shattered, bringing him back to blood covered battlefield._

_He ignored everything and went to Nora. She called for him, he would answer._

_Her head was turned towards him, her right hand covering the hole in her chest._

_Issei knelt beside her, the anger subsiding, bringing the despair of realizing what the fate of his wife was._

_The tears fell with no restraint. He refused to sob, to be able to say his last words to her with a clear voice._

_"I'm so sorry Nora-"_

_"Stop." She wheezed._

_"We talked about this. Knew it could happen. You…Promised." Her words were losing strength quickly._

_Issei nodded as he grabbed her hand and repeated what they agreed to do if one of them ever left this plane of existence._

_"The flowers of our cabin will bloom year round. The Earth will welcome our bodies. The sun will shower us in light and warmth of days gone by, just as the rains wash away the pain of being apart."_

_He couldn't hold the shake in his shoulders as his voice started to break apart._

_"This I swear."_

_Nora gave the best smile she could, she tried to laugh, only to cough harshly._

_"I never did…get to manage that…harem..for you."_

_Sobs and laughter mixed together. Even now, she was still trying to keep his spirits up, when by all rights she should be fearing her own fate._

_"I could hardly keep up with you. What makes you think any more would make it easier?"_

_"I'm special….There's never enough sex….in….my opinion."_

_Issei just smiled down at her, tears still pouring down his face._

_"Special doesn't even describe it. You're the greatest person there has or ever will be."_

_"Don't tell Mari…you said that. She'll be…jealous."_

_Issei wiped the wetness from his eyes._

_"She already looks like your clone. I bet she'll be just as amazing. just you wait and see."_

_Nora's eyes closed, a smile on her face._

_The one thing they hadn't said in the promise should either of them die, but both knew was there… Was not to say those three words. They would make letting go that much harder._

**-LineBreak-**

"So that's what happened."

He hadn't intended on it, but as his story telling progressed, Issei felt the need to lay it all out. Like he was trying to give them an insight to the person Nora had been, while also trying to finally find enough closure to move on.

He knew moving on completely was something he'd never do.

And if he ever saw her again in the next life, she'd berate him for taking so long.

"I….see." Sona said. She'd been the one to ask just _how_ the Old Satan Faction had cornered them, but was not expecting the detailed response she received.

She sat in her spot uncomfortably. The details were vivid, and she could picture it in her mind. She kept her emotions out of it as much she could, and it was all she could manage to keep her mask held on.

Rias was not even trying to hide how she felt. Her mouth covered her hand, as her eyes glistened. Her parentage was among the most compassionate in their realm. And she was prone to emotional bursts.

Rias gave Sona a questioning look.

She didn't even need to say the words, Sona just didn't have it in her to refuse what her friend was asking her.

Nor did she really want to. Manpower, political, social, economical, whatever the benefits may be for having Issei allied with them were inconsequential. he wanted peace, and they both felt he deserved that and much more.

Sona gave Rias a slight nod and cleared her throat.

"I can say with utmost certainty that we both agree there will be no issues regarding your residency here, nor will we needlessly spread information. For formalities sake, I feel I still have to ask, even though i'm positive of what your answer will be."

Issei gave them a nod, knowing this was bound to come up at some point, best to get it out of the way.

"Go ahead and ask."

"Will you join either of our peerages? We can offer your daughter the protection of either family. An education at some of the best schools around the world."

Issei smiled, but shook his head.

"Sorry, but no."

Rias removed her hand, having regained control of herself.

"May I ask why? Surely the Gremory or Sitri clans would be suitable to keep her safe."

Issei gave a small sigh. She could be right, but he just wasn't willing to take that risk.

"They might be. But look at it this way. The Purson family was ranked at Great-King before they died. They were among the strongest families in the underworld. And they were brought down by weaker beings. No offense to either of your families, but if they wanted to get to you badly enough, you'd more than likely never see it coming."

Issei took a moment before continuing.

"Besides that, i'm not officially affiliated with any faction. So i've made friends and contacts with most major pantheons. Angels and fallen included. Recruiting me would require you to not only announce me to the court, but my past relationships would probably bring unwanted heat to whichever peerage I went into."

The heiress' thought over his words. And while they were both a little crestfallen at being refused so quickly, his reasoning was sound. And not being with any faction, his travels would have more than likely put him in touch with many others.

Sona recalled Issei asking about the Satan for foreign affairs just before their meeting started, and was now curious as to why he'd bring that up.

"Why were you asking about my sister?"

Issei tilted his head at the seemingly strange turn in topic.

"Sparkles? Well, seeing as how-"

"Sparkles?!" Both Son and Rias yelled. Unable to comprehend that Issei referred to one of the strongest devils as such.

"Yea, ya know, how when she waves that wand around and it literally shoots sparkles out of it."

Sona sighed, feeling a headache coming on.

"Anyway, Nora and I met her when we would go to this convention. We never gave each other our real names, but we hung out anytime we were all there together. She's one of the only devils I'd trust my life to."

Rias toyed with the picture she was being given, it was easy enough to see Serafall Leviathan at such an event. But how Issei had come to trust her just based on those types of interactions she didn't understand.

"If you only met her at conventions, why would you trust her so implicitly?"

"Scent, body language, mannerisms. I'm pretty good at picking things up that help tell you more about a person then they might with just words. We also baited her a few times to see if she'd grab and try to pry for more info, but she never did."

His words made both girls feel a little more self-conscious, like they were being dissected without their knowledge or permission.

"Back to your question Lady Sitri. I wanted to make sure that nothing had changed since the last time I checked about the current status in the underworld. I haven't seen her since the month before Mari….was born."

'Shit!' He scolded himself for the slip of the tongue.

He had been deliberate in not saying his daughters name. He wanted to just trust them, but the thought of handing personal information about her over just kindled his slightly over protective instincts.

As much as he wish they hadn't, both girls picked up on it immediately.

Issei continued, hoping they would just let it go.

"I want to talk to sparkles, er, Serafall about the group that the Old Satan Faction is a part of."

Issei was surprised when it appeared that Sona was the one that looked like she wanted to continue questioning about his daughter, while Rias turned more serious at the turn of conversation.

"This group. What kind of information can you give us on them?"

Just as Rias asked that question, the bell signaling the end of the lunch break went off. Issei thought quickly about what to say in the limited time he had to get back to class, so as to keep off the teachers radar like he had been.

"On one condition."

Rias raised a brow as Sona copied the action. Both crossing their arms under their chests.

'You two have spent far too much time together.' he thought.

"And that would be?" Son inquired.

Issei stuck his hand out as he stood. He was about to make a stupid decision. He knew it had the potential to blow everything he's worked for to high hell. But it also held the possibility to gain him a few important allies in getting to the people responsible for Nora's death. And only then, would he truly move on.

"I want a bonded vow from both you, on the honor of yourselves and your family, that you not share any of this info with someone not **100%** trustworthy. And even then i'd like to be informed beforehand."

"What about my brother, the current Lucifer? If you trust Lady Leviathan so much, I have no doubt that you'd trust him as well."

Issei winced. He had heard of the Lucifers Sister complex. And while he didn't disagree with her statement, it would more than likely mean that he'd be requested for a favor or seven from the man.

"Deal." Issei shook each of their hands. A red ribbon of pure magic wrapping around each of their wrists during it, sealing the vow.

His desire to be on friendly terms with these two devil and their peerages would likely result in a few favors being traded anyways. So really, he felt it was a moot point.

"Take this with a grain of salt, but I got it from a very reliable source. A disgruntled fallen friend of mine. I'll come pick it up at the end of school. Don't send it to yourself, the one I got it from only uses encrypted systems. So while he can't be traced, you and I can."

His bad decision was to leave his phone in Rias' hands, with the email he received from Leighton. During the rest of the school day, Issei could feel Rias' power rolling off of her in waves coming from the old school building. She was apparently too upset to return to class. Not that he could blame her.

**-LineBreak-**

Rias read through the email at least seven times. And every time she did, a new aspect of it made itself known.

The first three times, were mainly how she was being treated like a fucking commodity! How dare that pompous piece of shit do this!

She started to reign in her anger after that. She was going to use whatever information that she could gleam from both Issei and this transcript to tear Riser apart.

The fourth and fifth times, a name caught her eye.

Euclid Lucifuge.

Diodora Astaroth.

Both descendants of noble devil houses. Euclid was the brother of her sister-in-law, and was thought to be dead. This could be a big enough problem on its own.

And what was Diodora doing there? He wasn't a member of the Old Satan Faction. His older brother was the current Beelzebub! What gripe could he have with the current regime?

No, he had to be after something. but the transcript didn't say what. No matter what it is, if this document was truthful, his current standing was about to be shattered.

The last two times Rias read through it, it was about Kokabiel, and his desire to restart the war. If he succeeded in killing either Sona or herself, it was almost a guarantee that there would be bloodshed.

Rias turned to her fellow warden and friend, who was sitting cross legged on the opposite chair, a hand under her chin in thought.

"Sona. We need our siblings here for when Issei comes back."

Sona didn't even flinch at the thought of seeing her sister this time. This was more important then whatever overly affectionate display Serafall would have for her. If handled correctly, this information could either help bring about a lasting peace, or tear the worlds supernatural factions apart at the seams.

Getting them to comply was easy, all they had to say was that this was important on both a familial level, and as their duties as leaders of the underworld. They asked what the issue was, but Rias and Sona only said they would share once all parties were here.

With that Issue placed on hold. Rias wanted something to take her mind off of it. And so the new object in her hands became her source of entertainment.

Rias had heard her grandfather utter once, before being beaten over the head for it, that a womans curiosity is as deadly as their intuition.

So she began perusing through Issei's phone, and was surprised by how little was on it. But what she did find…. was definitely worth her time.

As far as messages and contacts go, Issei had just the one in his phone. The one that sent the email, Leighton James, was among one of 9 contacts.

Jesper Stromblad.

Hikaru Utada

Momo Momozono

Sparkles

the rest were just initials.

V L

T

D G

V S

Rias looked at the last one with an actual name attached to it closely. She could have sworn she'd heard that name around school before.

No mom, dad or anything that seemed to indicate Issei even _had_ family. But if she were to guess, these initial only entries were ones that he didn't necessarily wanted others knowing that he was in contact with.

Moving on, Rias went on to where she hoped the treasure trove would be. The pictures.

She was not disappointed.

There they were. there were pictures of the two they had only been able to imagine so far.

Issei, and Nora in one picture. On a beach that appeared to be somewhere tropical. Rias felt herself become a little self-conscious of her own figure. She was talked about as one of the underworlds most beautiful. But something about Nora Purson just exuded this allure.

Her bright smile and vibrant green eyes only added to it. She could feel Sona shrink back into the couch, not wanting to look anymore.

She flipped to the next image.

"Sona, look at this one."

Two people were in this picture.

One was a petite woman with long black hair, golden yellow eyes much like her own rook did. Then there were the two tails behind her and the ears. This woman was a nekomata of some sort.

And on her shoulders was a tiny carbon copy of Nora. Brown hair, green eyes, brilliant smile.

And undoubtedly the cutest child Rias had ever seen. The allure that the picture of Nora seemed to carry was replaced by innocent happiness. Regardless of the fact that Mari had lost her mother, the little girl in the picture seemed to be as happy as could be.

"I'd really love to meet this girl."

**-LineBreak-**

The hidden sanctuary in Kyoto was a place that Anna felt she would always hold close to her heart. There were so many different species here that all just…got along. Feline, canine, aviary, and many more. All just going about their daily lives here with little concern about what your neighbors species was.

The gardens of Yasaka's home were her and Mari's favorite. So many different types of plant life.

Colors of all sorts surrounded you here. Red, blue, yellow, green, purple, pink, they were all there.

Anna was walking along the rows of flora, watching Mari and Kunou who was a few years older than her skip along the path holding hands.

Once in a while, Mari would use her budding abilities to make the taller stemmed flowers sway and dance, while Kunou clapped along to the rhythm.

Anna smiled at the two longingly, a hand rubbing her abdomen. Hoping, _praying_ , that in a few weeks she'd find out that she was pregnant.

And even though she and Issei had sex multiple times, her mating period was still active, and it was waging one hell of a war with her. her instincts and hormones were begging her to find the nearest acceptable mate.

But the only one her mind would ever accept in that way wasn't here. He was at their home doing what he thought best to ensure their continued safety.

"Mari's mind is growing rather quickly isn't it?" Anna turned behind her to see Yasaka, the blonde 9 tailed fox that lead the Kyoto Youkai faction. She walked up to Anna with a smile on her face as she saw the two children playing.

"Yes. She is far smarter than what I imagine a normal 3 year old should be."

"MOTHER MOTER LOOK! Mari turned the flower into a rainbow!"

The two adult women looked and saw that Mari had indeed done that. A patch of sunflowers standing taller than the children by a good measure now had their golden yellow petals turned into a variety of colors.

"That is quite amazing Mari! Your father would be very proud of you for using your abilities so well." Yasak said with a smile.

Mari turned a smile and ran up to them.

"Thank you Auntie Yasaka. Auntie Anna, is daddy coming to play with us soon?"

"I don't think so. He has some work to do, and it might take a few days. Go along and play with Kunou, just stay in sight okay?"

Mari didn't like hearing she might not see her father for a few days, she crossed her arms and mumbled through puffed cheeks.

"Okay Auntie." She turned and went back to playing with Kunou.

The two started to pick some of the more colorful flowers from the garden, and placing them in each others hair, and in Kunous case wrapped a string of them around her tails.

Yasaka turned her attention back to Anna.

"So how long do you think until Ise pays us a visit?"

Anna tilted her head a bit. Going by the information that Issei had given her, it didn't sound like much of an issue. They fallen in town weren't anywhere near as strong as herself. And were a candle being compared to a wildfire against Issei.

"He said that he wanted to make sure his previous charge is alright before getting them out of the area. He also has to deal with the two devils."

Yasaka's eyes widened at what she was hearing.

"Kali is there?"

Anna merely nodded, her tails twitching behind her.

"Yes, apparently. I've only heard bits and pieces of what happened to her, but apparently she was re-enslaved. Ise plans to take care of it."

The story of Kalawarner had been a topic of interest to her, as it was what led Issei and Nora to come and save her, so naturally she was curious about what happened.

They had only told her vague details. Captured, tortured until her mind was nearly broken, enslaved to be used however her prospective owner saw fit.

The details resonated with her, as it was the same general principle of what was to happen to her.

"I hope it is dealt with swiftly and safely. I spoke with Lady Inari this morning, and she wishes to see Issei and myself once he arrives. She said it was important, but wouldn't divulge any more information than that."

A mischievous glint came to Yasaka's eyes at the mention. She had a fairly good idea what it was about, and she wholeheartedly welcomed it. If Issei was caught by surprise, all the better, as it would give her a good laugh as well as something she'd been working the courage to bring up since before Nora died.

Anna saw the look and narrowed her eyes at the fox.

"I know that look. What are you two planning?"

Yasaka laughed behind her hand.

"Nothing to worry about I assure you. If Lady Inari does what I think she will, it will only make my relationship with Issei more….official."

Yasaka could picture it now, the sun shining down on them as they approached the steps of the shrine, passing the gate as a cloud let loose a downpour of rain that hadn't been anticipated. The blessing passing into them both, and the consummation soon after. He would resist at first, but they both knew he would accept it in the end. Sun showers were her favorite types of precipitation.

"A Kitsune no Yomeiri?" Anna asked with wide eyes. One of those hadn't been known to be performed in over a hundred years.

**-LineBreak-**

The last bell rang, and based on what Issei could feel, he wouldn't be getting home nearly as quickly as he had hoped.

Although, all things considered this might not be a bad thing. At least he could see his friend again.

The door to his classroom opened as most of his classmates were still gathering their things.

The girls started to squeal excitedly, and even if the scent and devilish aura hadn't given them away, they would have.

"The prince is here!" Was the most common theme among the girls, as the guys gave him a glare.

Issei watched a Kiba, the renowned gentleman of the school walked through to the class towards him. He looked like he did not want to be here at the moment.

"Are you Issei Hyoudou?"

Maintaining his in school persona, Issei merely nodded.

"Please follow me."

Another nod, and they started walking out. Both young men doing their best to ignore the insane ideas the girls were throwing around about them….coupling…

Issei could tell that Kiba was tense. His posture was stiff, he didn't talk, and he kept his eyes straight ahead. Issei's guess was that Rias hadn't yet said anything to her peerage about his meeting with her and Sona.

The silence continued into the old school building. Kiba was about to knock, but the door was opened before he could. A flash of silver hair was all he saw of the figure as it moved to stand behind the door to let them in.

"DESTRO!" A female voice called out as soon as he crossed the threshold. Luckily Issei was somewhat used to this treatment, from her, Mari and Kunou, so he caught her in his arms with little trouble.

A black mope of pigtailed hair was nuzzling into his shirt affectionately. And he could hear Sona give a sigh of relief at no longer being the center of attention.

Issei chuckled and rubbed the womans back.

"heya sparkles, nice to see you too."

After a few more seconds, Issei looked up and the two gathered peerages, Sona's being a complete mystery to him. But he at least had knowledge of who Rias' peerage was. Then there was a near identical copy of Rias standing next to her, and the silver hair he'd seen earlier was from a woman in a maid outfit.

The two additions were easy enough to figure out.

Issei tried to set Serafall down.

But she wrapped her legs and arms around him, refusing his obvious request.

"NU-UH! You haven't called me or anything in 2 years before today! You know the protocol!"

Her fiery retort left no room for an argument, it was already a pre-established thing.

'damn those flimsy chairs!'

The second day of the first convention they'd met each other, He Nora and Serafall had already hit it off, and were sticking together.

The table was chosen by the girls as Issei carried the food, and his chair had an unsteady leg, causing him to flip food all over both the table and Serafall.

Her cheeks were puffed out as she demanded that he do whatever she said until she felt she could forgive him. Nora just laughed, finding the whole situation funny as hell and let him get dragged along.

Something he did seemed to happen to upset her every time they were together for an extended period of time. And thus, The protocol was born.

" *sigh* Alright, alright. So what is it this time? Shoulder steed? Pack mule?"

Issei caught the incredulous stares of both peerages, minus their kings. They at least had been informed that they knew each other, but hadn't expected them to be so friendly.

The Rias doppelgänger was looking on in barely hidden amusement, while the maid only rose an eyebrow at what she was seeing.

Serafall seemed to ignore everyone, and tapped her chin in thought, even though they both knew what she was going to choose. She was already in her position.

"Chair and back rub!" She exclaimed before putting her face back into his shirt.

Issei sighed for what felt like the millionth time in the last 24 hours. But he nonetheless complied, and put and arm underneath her to hold her in place.

He turned to the older devils he hadn't officially met, walking towards them and extended a hand.

"Hello. I'm Issei Hyoudou, nice to meet you Lord Lucifer, Lady Grayfia. I'd bow, but uh, my current situation prevents it."

SirZechs gave a hearty laugh at the scene in front of him and extended a hand likewise.

"No need Issei Hyoudou. Western greetings work just as well. I have to say it's nice to finally meet the one Serafall has been talking about these last few years."

Issei gave a strained smile as he took his hand back. Then offered it to the maid, Grayfia.

"A pleasure." Her short response only surprised him a little, he'd heard she could be distant. But thought that maybe those stories were an exaggeration. Apparently they weren't.

Issei seated himself on the couch, Serafall in his lap as he did as she requested, only causing her to snuggle in further. Which seemed to irritate Sona to no end. No doubt berating her sister mentally for not behaving how a leader should in a situation like this. SirZechs, Grayfia, Rias and Sona all sat on the couch across from him, the peerage members standing behind.

"So, Rias, Sona. Can I have my phone back?" The collective group except the elder devils almost fell over.

Rias gave it back with little fanfare. Growing a little nervous as Issei fiddled with the device a bit.

"You should really learn to cover your tracks a bit better. But I suppose it's my fault for handing it to you. I had expected you'd look through it."

He could see the recently opened apps, as she either hadn't known how to close them, or just hand't bothered. Pictures, messaging, contacts, email. Normally all very personal stuff, that one doesn't just let anyone see. But Issei had deleted most of the stuff on his phone. Including the message he sent to Serafall earlier.

Serafall withdrew her face from the cotton and looked up at him.

"Wow, you put a lot of trust in her to leave your phone in her hands."

At least Serafall seemed to understand the current social meta. Placing your phone at someones mercy was essentially baring your soul to them…normally. It was still pretty close to that, seeing as Issei had pictures of Anna Nora and Mari on it.

But he had their vow, that was good enough. He hoped.

"That was the point. I want them to trust me. Give a little, get a little right?"

She nodded, then her eyes softened as they locked onto his, her hold on him becoming quite a bit tighter.

"Issei. I'm sorry about Nora. She was a great person." It was the most serious anyone in the room had seen her in quite a long time. never in Sona's life had she seen her sister be so soft spoken.

Issei smiled down towards her. He wrapped both arms around her for a tight hug, bringing her as close to him as he could.

"She really liked hanging out with you."

Grayfia cleared her throat. Issei broke the hug, and Serafall buried herself into him once more.

"We've been filled in by Lady Rias and Lady Sitri. However Lord Lucifer has a few more questions."

Issei tilted his head.

"Lord Lucifer? I understand the need for formality when in a major public setting, but isn't he your husband?" Issei's innocent question made SirZechs nod with a beaming smile.

"Yes, Grayfia is my wife, I've tried to get her to-"

He was swiftly cut off by a tight cheek pinch from his wife/maid.

"OWOWOW Gwayfia it Huwts!"

The gesture made Issei laugh hard.

It was the first time anyone at kuoh had seen anything from him any higher than a slight smile, this was a full open mouth, head tilted back laugh.

"Sorry, sorry. I won't instigate anymore marital troubles."

'The cheek pinch and the fish hook…every wife's weapon it seems.' Issei chuckled to himself.

To the rest of those gathered, they felt like they'd been left behind. They had expected it, in a more formal sense. But not like this. This was like an old and weary widower watching a newlywed couple. Even though Issei was over 200 years younger then both of them.

A few cheek rubs to get the blood flow back, a chuckle, and a death glare later, they were getting back on topic.

"So Issei. Other than this document, do you have any other evidence to support any of the claims it is pointing to?" SirZechs tone was still informal, seemingly to have taking a liking to the young man.

"Only locations of previous hideouts. By the time we had found one, they were gone. Nora and I played a very long game of cat and mouse with them. After she got pregnant, we decided to just lay low."

SirZechs nodded in understanding. When Grayfia had been pregnant, it was all he could do, to get her to tone her duties down once she was in the third trimester.

Issei gave them the rough recount of what he could recall, and said that he could get more later, since he had a written log of dates, locations and what they'd found back at home.

"Your daughter, Mari…Is it Hyoudou, or Purson?"

"Hyoudou." Came his instant reply.

"I see. The old pillar house names are very important to devil culture, I assume this is no news to you?" SirZechs questioned seriously, his change in demeanor catching the younger ones except Issei by surprise.

"I am aware."

SirZechs could tell that Issei knew where he was about to go with this, and didn't particularly like it.

"Your daughter is the last of a long a powerful line of devils. The underworld would greatly benefit from-"

"How?"

Sirzechs stopped, Grayfia glared at him. Even Serafall picked her head up to look at him with an expression he couldn't quite determine.

"How would the underworld benefit, from my daughter, a 3 year old girl, being placed in the public eye as a pillar head when there are people who would hunt her down just for her name alone?" Issei's tone was cold.

"Issei." Serafall called out to him, making him break contact with the married couple.

"We're not asking to do this now. We understand that her safety is first and foremost to you. What we're asking, is that if we can catch the ones responsible, would you be willing to be by her side if she accepts when she comes of age."

Sona could only look at her sister with shock. She'd seen her sister in her Satan role quite a few times, and every single time she was acting as her usual magical girl self. This, was not something she was accustomed to.

"Not as a devil."

Serafall nodded.

"We know."

Issei spared a glance to Serafall, then Sirzechs and Grayfia.

"You _know?"_

"As soon as we heard that you were the Red Dragon Emperor. We knew. And we hope, that by the time your daughter would be eligible, it won't matter." Sirzechs answered.

Rias and Sona looked towards Issei, and then each other. It was clear that there was something they hadn't been told. And it clearly a big deal, at least in the current political climate.

"And how do you think the elders would take it? Having _Heavens Leper_ along one of their oldest families?"

The collective gasp and step back gave him all he needed to know. They had no clue about the relationship between the church and the current Red Dragon Emperor.

"So, how far out do you think it is? Five, ten years maybe?" His tone switched from its serious and cold, into pure sarcasm.

" _Especially_ if the info my friend gave me is true. Then you're losing three more of the last of their bloodline. I don't see how, in any situation, this is accepted by them."

SirZechs, Grayfia, and Serafall had to give him that point. If this document turned out to be true, it would create hysterics among the older devils. Even if the old regime was generally regarded as being too stuck in the old ways, and not thinking of their races' preservation, they still didn't want the old bloodlines to disappear.

"They would see her as an ideal candidate for how the underworld could be shaped for the future." Rias was the hopeful voice to speak up for the group.

"And _that, is exactly what_ I _don't_ want."

"What do you mean?" Grayfia didn't comprehend.

"I want to teach Mari everything I can. Give her the tools to make her own decisions. What I _don't_ want, is for her to be exposed to someone with a discriminatory attitude based on hundreds if not thousands of years of predetermined hate. I've seen each of the three sides at their best and their worst. And as far as i'm concerned, you're all the same."

Rias, Akeno, Kiba, the tall long haired girl beside Sona and Sona herself all took that rather poorly. But the three elders stayed silent.

"And just what _exactly_ do you mean by that?" Rias asked.

This time, the look Issei gave her was far colder than when they'd destroyed the garden.

"The masses of each of the three factions all hate the other two because of their inbred discrimination. The angels say that because you aren't pure by the rules of their good book that you must be vanquished. The fallen are pissed because of the way the big man in white ruled things, and the way he dealt with the first generations of devils. So they initially fought to gain control of the underworld and get some of his favor back, but when heaven attacked the fallen, they were just plain ole pissed off at everyone. The devils wanted to do as they pleased, not wanting anyone but one of their own to have any say in what they did."

The younger devils were silent, some of them stewing in their rage at their own circumstances, mainly Akeno and Kiba. While the rest tried to see Issei's side of things.

"Thankfully, the leaders of each faction seemed to have learned that this line of thinking will only result in three way destruction. So….until you all can come to an understanding, I don't want Mari anywhere near the vast majority of any of you."

A few more seconds of silence, and the one that Issei was surprised hadn't spoken up, did.

"Why are you called Heavens Leper? What does that mean? What did you do?"

It was Akeno. Issei mentally cursed himself for not bringing it up with Rias earlier. Her voice, normally soft but carried confidence, sounded lost, confused. Like he was against her before they'd even gotten to know each other. It was the effect he had on people of her heritage at work.

"I was born and listened to my parents. I did as they asked, and tried to make them happy. Born and raised to be a part of the church. A long standing line of dragon slayers."

The collective group of younger devils all had widened eyes, and Issei nodded.

"Yea, exactly. So heaven gets word that the fallen have gotten the White Dragon Emperor, and start to prepare for the worst. Me, a 10 year old boy who's said to be the prodigy of my generation, gets volun-told i'm the first pick for the test run of heavens reincarnation system. Something goes wrong in the process and not only am I not turned into an angel, the sacred gear I have is the very thing that everyone I know despises. So what do they do? In their blind _hate,_ they try to kill me. I get away and hide on the streets. Who would've thought that in a world with thousands of years of war, that a parent would so willing to disown their own child for something out of their control. They told me that God must have delivered me to them, so that they could prevent more wrath brought on by a pagan power by cutting off my head as an example to Albions host."

Issei took a calming breath to get back to his original point.

"Sorry, sorry. Got a little too heated for a bit there. Moral of the story? See a person for _who_ they are, and not _what_ what are. Sounds old school and cliche, but obviously the supernatural world isn't as quick to adapt as the human world."

For one of them gathered, that statement gave her a measure of hope. As much Issei's words had stung, saying that the three powers were all the same. His explanations were thought out and clearly had experience behind them, it make Akeno all the more determined to get to know what made Issei Hyoudou tick.

"Outside of wanting the information that I showed them, was there anything else that you wanted to talk to me about?" Issei asked, looking from Sirzechs to the leader who still had her legs wrapped around him.

Serafall squeezed Issei to grab his attention.

"Can….Can I meet her? Nora was pregnant the last time we met, i've been excited to meet your daughter ever since."

Issei had to think long and hard on that one.

On one hand, Serafall had never done anything to him that would question her intentions, she had pretty much been an open book to him from day one.

But it would be a bit much if he allowed all of them at once, if he allowed them to meet Mari at all.

"Hmmmm….." Issei looked up to the ceiling, thinking of the best way to deal with this. Mari loved meeting new people, but got overwhelmed if everyone was looking at her.

"How about this. I deal with our little fallen hiding in the church issue, and once Mari and Anna come back, the four of us will have dinner. I'll even cook you that Salmon dish you liked so much."

Sera's eyes shone with excitement, he'd cooked her a meal one time, and she ranted and raved about it for over an hour afterword. He was having a hard time seeing which see was more excited for, the food or meeting Mari.

He looked over to the rest of the group.

"I don't want to be rude, but I hardly know any of the rest of you. If we stay on good terms, and you want to meet her, then we'll work on it."

They all nodded, Sirzechs included. He no doubt was interested, but he could glean information about her development from Serafall.

Sona made a movement with her hand, and one of her servants handed over a folder with several pictures in it.

"Hyoudou, do you know anything about the fallen there?"

Issei shrugged nonchalantly.

"Not much. They're probably here because of my display at the garden. Although, that email I showed you gave me all the other info I have. A friend of mine has apparently been re-enslaved by one of her own kind. So I intend to kill two birds with one stone, get them out of here, and save Kali. The fallen banned slavery decades ago, so how it went under the radar is another issue of concern."

The younger devils looked at him like he was crazy.

"You intend to save a fallen?" Rias asked incredulously.

"Yes. One who Nora and I knew very well."

"Nora Purson was involved with fallen angels?" Sona asked curiously.

Issei shook his head, feeling disappointed in them at their reactions.

"As i've said before. Nora and I made friends on all sides. We went to parties with fallen, had meals with angels. Sparred with valkyries. Walked in the celts vineyards. You have to see the person beyond the label, otherwise the world will burn itself out all the quicker."

The three elders looked at Issei and nodded in agreement, and the younger devils sunk back, effectively set in their place seeing two of their leaders on Issei's side.

Sona leaned forward and placed the folder on the coffee table between them.

"If you intend to do something about the fallen, here are the pictures of their current members we've gathered."

Issei picked the up the pictures from the folder, scanning through them quickly, looking for two people in particular. He stopped once he found them. Pointing at the two he said.

"These two here." Issei pointed to a picture where two fallen stood in front of the church. Once had long blue hair in a ponytail, her bangs covering one of her deep blue eyes. An iron collar around her neck with seemed to be etched with markings.

The other had long free flowing black hair, and violet eyes. Rias was quick to notice the visual similarities between the fallen and her own queen. A quick look at her queen, and she could tell that Akeno noticed the same thing, and wasn't pleased.

"The blue haired one is Kalawarner. Depending on the specifics of _how_ they managed to enslave her again, she may be stuck with me for a while. Raynare will just head back to Azazel….I hope."

"Is she a potential problem Issei?" Sirzechs asked, his tone in between casual and serious. A matter like this would more than likely have been set off by either a misunderstanding on the higher-ups end, or misinterpretation on the subordinates end.

And Issei had a personal interest in dealing with this swiftly and efficiently.

"Probably not. Kalawarner comes off a bit stern, but is a big softy once you get to know her. Raynare has always been….Temperamental. Anything that gets her more of Azazel's favor is on her to-do list."

Issei started to chuckle under his breath, drawing the curiosity of the others.

"What's so funny?" Grayfia asked with a small glare. it was quite apparent that she wasn't that much a fan of his.

"Just thinking of how Kali will react when she hears that Nora and I had a kid. She left us before Nora got pregnant. Her and Mari are gonna hit it off for sure."

Issei looked up at the clock and saw that it was just about 5pm, a little later than he'd like to get started on this fallen ordeal. There was always the chance that it could stretch on longer then he anticipated, and he wanted this ended so that Mari and Anna could come home. It hadn't even been a full day, and he already missed them.

Going to an empty home was going to be a bit strange.

"On that note, I think I need to get this done with. C'mon sparkles, time to get back to work." The Leviathan looked like that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Promise me, that when you're done we'll have that dinner as soon as possible."

She held out her left pinky finger.

He grasped it with his right, and a smile.

"I promise. As soon as this is done, you me Mari and Anna will have that Salmon dinner."

Serafall smiled and gave one of her typical poses as she teleported out via magic circle. Sparkles shooting out of it as she did.

Rias looked at Issei intently as she spoke up.

"I hope we get to a point where I can meet her as well. Those pictures of her are adorable."

Issei smiled to the red headed young woman and nodded in agreement.

"yea, i'm lucky she looks like Nora instead of me." A worried look came over his face.

"Although…now that I think about it, in about 10 years that's going to be a problem."

Sirzechs laughed at his predicament. He was lucky that he'd had a son, otherwise he'd fear for the same thing.

**END!**

**it feels good to put some of my ideas for this story in writing finally. Most of this was planned before I even finished the first chapter.**

**Next chapter….I kill some Fallen Angels…It shall be gory, it shall be fun =]**

**The Yasaka part will be enjoyable too…for me at least.**


	4. Chp 4

**Just a warning. Incoming foul language, and mature content not deemed appropriate for those under the age of reason and such.**

**Also - NAME THOSE REFERENCES!**

**BEGIN!**

_In these desperate times._

_This I plead._

_When all else fails,_

_remember me._

It was as close to a prayer as she'd gotten in a very long time, even if it wasn't to the deity that had created her.

She tugged at her restraints as a man with white hair and red eyes stalked towards her. The way he trailed his gaze up and down her body told her all too well what he wanted.

The chains wouldn't budge, their place in the wall held secure. She would have no say in what he did to her. And all she could think about was that a few years ago, she had made the stupidest decision of her life. And if given the chance, she'd take it back in a heartbeat.

_This is a Blood Oath._

_They are nothing to me anymore._

_But your voice means more to me than you'll ever know._

She had been lucky enough to avoid this repulsive excuse for a man having his way with her so far.

That luck had just run out.

Her current _master_ had given clear permission to do what he wanted with her.

The blonde girl chained to the wall next to her couldn't be touched, the mental toll it would take might effect the ritual the leader of the group was planning.

The ex-nun whispered prayers to her god, having no idea that he'd been dead for over a few centuries.

_There's no question._

_You're the answer._

_I will find you._

The pseudo prayer was something she whispered to herself many times these last few years, after hearing it playing on the speakers in a music store. It just felt fitting.

Her skin crawled as the stray priest trailed a finger down from her chin to her chest. His touch was revolting, she would much rather have been swimming in maggots.

While her friend was in the next room, unable to do anything to help.

If she did, Dohnaseek had threatened to detonate the collar, and she'd be next.

The thought had crossed her mind, that it wouldn't be so bad. At the very least she wouldn't have to deal with this shit anymore.

The beatings she could handle, she was a tougher blend of fallen then most.

But _this…_ being raped was a whole other level of torture that she wasn't sure she could handle.

If only she had found him before coming to this town. Before Freed had joined up with this team.

His hand cupped her breast that was covered by her leather coat, squeezing it just to the realm where it would be considered violent.

She cursed herself for the way she had looked down on him and Nora, her stubborn nature getting the better of her. They had treated her with nothing but care and respect, and what did she do?

Spat in their face, saying that she'd rather have her wings cut off and be reduced into a drooling, drugged up fuck toy then stay with them. She had to look at Nora to say that much, because just _looking_ at Issei reduced her to a puddle of unfamiliar emotions.

'How appropriate.' She thought bitterly, as the buttons of her coat were torn away.

She had basically gotten just that.

She hadn't even really meant it, but nearly her entire life had been built around hating what Nora was, and where Issei had been born into. It had become a natural reaction.

They offered her a life where she would be loved and cared for, instead she chose freedom, which just ended with slavery and abuse all over again.

A bitter chuckle ran through her mind.

'Issei's slave? I would've been treated more like a housewife than a slave. He'd never lay a hand on me in anger.'

That sounded _very_ appealing at the moment.

She could only hope that he had gotten the message from Leighton. Maybe…just maybe he would come and bring her out of this horrid existence. Eventually.

He was good at picking up the subtle hints. It was how he'd first come to rescue her in the first place.

'If it wasn't Freed about to fuck me…' No, she knew that no matter who it was, the fact remained, that she didn't want anyone else. Just him.

She'd never submit to anyone but him.

Not Azazel, Not Shemhazai, and _definitely_ not Kokabiel.

'If Ise came through that door….I'd never _ever_ leave. Never again.'

But being a fallen angel, Kalawarner knew that her prayer, her wish, wouldn't get any notice from heaven. It wasn't like they'd send it to Issei even if it did.

All she could do for now was grin and bear it, and try to not let it effect her too much.

But that would be difficult, she'd seen what Freed did to his 'playmates'. They never had the stomach to live afterwards.

"I'm going to have so much fun with you. So much fun."

His maniacal laugh filled the vaulted ceiling of the church, echoing all around and back down to them.

And the other priests, were just standing there watching. By the tent in their pants, some of them wanted their turns after him.

She gasped as her breasts greeted the cool air when Freed ripped her top open.

She wanted to vomit when she saw him lick his lips. Such a stupid, cliche gesture.

She doubted he could actually please a willing woman, not that he'd ever had any. The stories of this guy made it all too clear that he was only interested in the bound, unconscious, or struggling.

"I hope your height doesn't reflect on the size of your cock." She taunted. She at least wanted to get a few shots in. That would at least show some rebellion from what was about to happen.

His eyes narrowed, his right hand cocked back and slapped her across the face.

'What a fucking weakling. If I weren't chained…I'd kill this little shit.'

Before she fell from grace, she was a frontline fighter, the ones that could take a hit and plow through. A slap from a human was nothing.

"You..Fucking…Cunt. I might have considered being gentle before, but now….oh _now_ you're going to be bleeding once i'm done."

The light sword in his left hand sliced through her skirt, she never wore panties, which left her naked as the day she was created.

Freed started to unbuckle his belt, when she started taunting him again.

"How's this even going to work? I'm 6 inches taller than you. You can't even reach my pussy. You gonna wrap your legs around my waist and fuck me that way? Some _big man_ you are."

His pants hit the floor, and just as his short stature suggested, he wasn't working with much. He gripped the sword harder and lifted it towards her face.

"Maybe I'll just cut you in half and fuck any hole I find."

Freed's sword arm came back for the swing, aimed at her midsection.

Before he could make true to his threat, the doors burst open, and the fallen on guard was thrown inside.

"What the FUCK is going on?!" Freed didn't bother to put his pants back on, that wasn't surprising since he had multiple charges of public indecency on his record. Charges that the Grigori had removed from existence.

The moonlight was shining over a figure in the doorway from the back, keeping it from being shown to them.

Whoever it was, took a few steps inside, and then stopped.

The fallen that was thrown inside, Mittelt, was unconscious at Freeds feet. He didn't step around, instead he stepped on her torso to make his way towards the new arrival.

Kalawarner could hear Dohnaseek stomping his way towards where they were.

'I guess the noise was enough to drag him from his nightly boy-toy.'

She wasn't against gay people, but it was disturbing that he liked to get them as young as he did. 11-13 was his prime range. It was just _fucking_ gross. How did she end up with this fucked up of a group? At least when she daydreamed about Issei he had been 16, just before she left them.

Freed broke into a run at their guest, not bothering with trying to figure out who it was anymore.

The figure didn't move, it just stood there, looking in her direction.

Once Dohnaseek and Raynare had run into the room, both yelling about the noise, Kali felt it.

That presence, _his_ presence.

Calming, soothing, all-encompassing. It was him. And based on the fact that he was staring directly at her, she would be saved. Just like he promised.

Her chains creaked and shook as he rose a hand towards them, before shattering.

A few pieces of the metal flew into the muscles of the priests surrounding the room.

Kalawarner rubbed her wrists, trying to get the proper flow back into them. She watched as the nun, who'd passed out at some point dropped to the ground when her bonds were shattered as well.

She walked over to the girl, propped her up against the wall as Raynare came over to her, looking like she saw a ghost.

"Kali…Is that who I think it is?" She whispered, having picked up on his presence as well.

His presence seemed to effect Kalawarner more than Ray for some reason.

She nodded with as little movement as she could that would still answer her friend.

"Yea…and he doesn't seem happy. Stay here Ray."

While Raynare was a prideful fallen, believing that they _could_ beat the other races in a one on one fight, she wasn't stupid enough to go against the strongest Red Dragon Emperor to ever exist.

The figure, who the two women had deemed to be Issei, sauntered forward towards Freed who had just jumped into a downward sword swing.

The air shimmered underneath Freed, and the momentum was changed to a direct fall to the ground.

His bones creaked in protest from the force, likely fracturing both of his legs that had made the first contact to the ground.

Freed yelled out, rolling around, trying to find any position to alleviate the pain.

Issei came into full view finally, the darkness of the church entrance only lasting for the first twenty feet.

Just as she thought, he looked pissed.

His normally calm brown eyes were narrowed in a way she'd only seen once before. In Chanthaburi.

His hand rose again, and a whisper came from his lips, too quiet to hear. The result was all too easy to feel for those around her and Raynare.

'His gravity control is far better than before.' She thought, noticing the same slight shimmer in the air from when Freed had been slammed into the ground.

Dohnaseek and the priests were all stuck to the ground, unable to move an inch.

Issei's eyes locked back onto Kalawarner, and nodded towards the fedora wearing fallen.

"Was it him?" It was a simple question. And it could relate to any number of topics, but both Raynare and Kalwarner knew what he was asking.

'Was it _him_ that enslaved you?'

They both nodded as the blonde girl started to stir against the wall.

"What….what's going on?" Her words were in Italian, translated to their ears thanks to their language ability.

Issei's eyes softened as he looked at the other girl, even to an untrained eye, the girl was as naive and innocent as they came. It was no surprise she wasn't held by his magic. But they hardened again as he turned back to herself and Raynare.

"Kali, 5 minutes. In 5 minutes this church will _bloom_."

Her eyes widened the furthest her sockets would allow, and she scrambled to get up and out of there.

She grabbed Raynare by the hand and slung the blonde over her shoulder and bolted out as fast as she could. Her nudity was forgotten in the face of that declaration.

"Please Ise. Take me back." She whispered to him as she ran by, she only got a slight nod in response. That was as good as she was going to get at the moment.

Issei held his captives still, even after the girls were gone.

"You…We're going to talk." He pointed at Dohnaseek.

**-LineBreak-**

Rias sat at her desk in the clubroom in thought. It was nearly midnight now.

The events of that afternoon had been playing and replaying in her head ever since.

Akeno stood off to the side, unusually still. She was clearly having the same issue.

Issei Hyoudou. Their thoughts might be a bit different about him, but he brought things into question for each of them that had seemed so common place before. His words made them want to look passed the race, and see the person, see the motives.

After that meeting, she wondered how she could have been such a hypocrite before. She wanted to be seen as her own person, separate from the Gremory name. Why was it such an obscure idea to do the same for others?

Her brother had always advocated peace, saying that it was the only way all three sides could continue to exist in the current world.

And many had scoffed and written it off as ridiculous. The main reason being, that it had always been this way. Or that their was too much spilled blood to consider peace. The devil population was too rooted to their traditions and habits.

Rias wasn't against peace, but the way her peerage members had come to her had given her a predisposition against the other factions.

Her idea of peace, would be to split into their respective areas of control and stay there. But she knew that devils would be the first to break that treaty. They always wanted more. More power, more resources, more influence, more subordinates.

She glanced to her queen. Akeno would usually keep herself busy with something if they were in the club for any length of time. it was unusual to see her so…unoccupied.

"What's on your mind Akeno?"

Her queen blinked, coming out of her thoughts, and looking like she hadn't really realized that she was spacing out.

The blank look on her face shifted to her usual calm and polite smile when she faced her king and best friend.

Before Akeno could say that nothing was bothering her, Rias spoke again.

"You've been staring at the same spot for almost an hour. You can't do that and expect me to think or believe that nothing is wrong."

The smile faltered a bit, her face showing the confusion she'd been feeling.

"I….Just don't understand."

Rias just rose an eyebrow, waiting for the rest of the explanation.

"He was cast aside by his family, and almost killed by the church. How can he see any of them in a positive light. Meanwhile, I'm so bitter about my own heritage. At a glance, our situations aren't all that different."

Akeno sunk down onto the couch, another unusual display from her. She always tried to appear proper and ladylike, it was how they were both taught by her family.

"I can only imagine that it wasn't overnight, and that some world experience had a part to play in it."

The room lit up with a silver light, both girls recognizing the Gremory crest before the light cut it from view.

"Lady Rias." The voice of Grayfia came out before the light faded. Her voice more serious than usual, which was hard to tell as she always kept to her stoic appearance, unless she was off duty.

Those silver eyes of steel bore into Rias', and the girls both instantly knew that this wasn't a pleasant visit with family.

"What's going on Grayfia?" Rias returned the serious tone. Akeno coming to stand by her kings side.

"By order of the 4 Devil Kings, all devils in Kuoh are hereby ordered to reside in the same home, within a two city block radius of The Red Dragon Emperor, until further notice. No clients are to be seen. Outside of school, you are ordered to remain here, your new residence or within fifteen miles of the Red Dragon Emperor."

Grayfia reached into a pocket, pulling a set of keys and several rolled up documents. Rias took them and opened up the first piece of paper.

"This is… a council decree…"

The font was bold and sophisticated, the devil kings and elders signatures were only used for new laws or matters that pertained to the entire underworld.

Rias' eyes widened as she read further.

'What happened in the last few hours?'

The document didn't explain the reasons, only what precautions were being taken.

"Grayfia…Why is the underworld, along with all of the territories being placed on high alert?"

Grayfia had been instructed to deliver this information, and nothing else. She wanted to explain to her sister-in-law what they'd just found and heard. But the leaders involved had made it clear that no information was to spread needlessly.

"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to go into specifics. All that I am certain that I can say, is that The Red Dragon Emperor and his contacts have given millions of lives the chance of survival."

While the two younger devils were absorbing that, Grayfia started another transportation circle.

"Lord Lucifer and Lady Leviathan have asked that you inform Sona Sitri. Once you do that, go to the church, Issei Hyoudou should be there now."

The silver circle brightened as it took the Silver Queen of Annihilation to where she was needed next.

Rias and Akeno looked from where Grayfia departed, then to each other.

"Contact the others, i'll talk to Sona."

Akeno nodded, setting up a communication circle to Koneko and Kiba immediately.

Rias took a breath before doing the same for Sona, who would no doubt be against something like this. She was too, but the look in Grayfias eyes said that this was necessary.

The red circle came to life around her ear, the runes spinning as it did as commanded.

_-hello_

Sonas voice was groggy, having just been woken up.

"Sona, gather your peerage and meet in my clubroom. Grayfia just handed me a council directive."

Rias could hear the shuffling of Sona standing up and doing her best to wake up quickly.

_-We'll be there in a few minutes._

The communication ended just as her rook and knight appeared from their circles. Kiba looked no worse for wear, but Koneko, she looked half dead on her feet.

A thought of a cat needing 16 hours of sleep a day almost made Rias smile. but now wasn't the time for that.

"President, what are our orders?" Kiba stepped forward.

Rias walked over to her desk, and sat down in her chair.

"Once Sona and her peerage are here, I'll go over what I know."

Koneko nodded, and sat in her usual spot on the sofa. Kiba and Akeno standing off the Rias' right side, with Kiba closer to the window, looking out into the dark night sky.

The silence reigned until The Sitri group appeared with a flash of blue.

Sona standing front and center of her peerage, as a king should.

Sona walked forward to the desk of her friend.

"Alright Rias. What does this directive say?"

Straightening herself in the seat, Rias laid the document out on the desktop.

"Feel free to read it for yourself. But to sum things up, something has the underworld and all territories on high alert. Grayfia couldn't tell me anything other than Issei being the reason they're moving so fast. Both of our peerages are to move into a single home near his until further notice."

Placing the document back into her desk drawer, Rias stood and walked towards everyone else.

"First order of business, is to meet Issei Hyoudou at the church."

**-LineBreak-**

The inside of the church had been quiet for the last few minutes. Before which there had been screams that echoed out the door and into the woods surrounding it.

The smell was terrible, burnt hair and flesh, it would make even the hardest of individuals scrunch their nose.

Issei had tried to play negotiator with them. But the damn zealots wouldn't listen, and charged at him with their weapons ready to strike.

They were never given the chance. He coated his hands in a fire hot enough to cut through bone like butter.

7 of the priests had a hole the size of his hand through their abdomen, 2 had both arms and legs severed, another was missing his entire thorax.

The rest had been suffocated, unable to breathe from the pressure on their lungs that his gravity magic placed on them.

"Now, let's try this again. Transfer her to me." Issei took another of Dohnaseek fingers in between his right thumb and index finger.

He'd already lost three others, which had been burned off to the base, but he still refused to give in. If this kept up, he'd have to use his sure fire method of getting Kalawarner out from his control. But he'd prefer it come out naturally. Or as naturally as a torture victim could give.

"Say the words, and I'll stop. You'll be sent off to Azazel with the rest of your body still intact."

Dohnaseek glared at the young man standing in front of him.

The bastard had over powered him, and placed the chains that his slave had been wearing just a short while ago, after being repaired by a magic he'd never seen before.

He knew that Kalawarner had been a slave before, but had no clue that _this_ was the person who she served. The strangest part was that he just let her go!

How could a straight man look at her and decide that he didn't want what she could offer him.

He was tempted to partake a few times, and he was the furthest thing from straight.

"Fuck…You."

The words came out between ragged breaths. There was no way that he would release her. no amount of pain would make him surrender what was his.

And thanks to the special runes from Ananle, if he died, her collar would explode. Unless of course, ownership was transferred.

"Wrong."

The heat flared up again, and Dohnaseek felt the flesh melt from his finger. The bone cracked from the heat, before crumbling and falling to the ground as he screamed.

He thought it would stop there, as it had with the other three.

But it looked as though this boy was done playing games. He grabbed his wrist, and maimed him the same way he did with the fingers.

One handless arm, and the other missing two fingers, Dohnaseek considered giving him what he wanted.

The bitch wasn't worth it. But his pride wouldn't let him give in to a humans demands.

The boys face was as neutral as he'd ever seen on the most serious of beings.

It was all too clear that he'd done this before.

Issei leaned forward, and grabbed the right eyelid of the tortured fallen. He only had one more chance to give in.

"Last chance, say the words, or I _force_ you to say them."

That arrogant smirk came back over Dohnaseeks face, and Issei didn't wait for a verbal response. it was time to end this.

"Very well."

The grip on the fallen eyelid tightened, and Issei grabbed the other one with his free hand.

The heat flared hot and fast, enough to burn through the tissue, and not risk damaging anything else.

Issei grabbed the side of Dohnaseeks head and started to use the only other talent that he hadn't used tonight.

mental Interference magic.

Most just called it mind control, but it had so many other uses than that.

With just a touch of his hand, Issei could pull memories. But to put your own will onto another, Issei needed eye contact.

Burning the hands and eyelids was more for what he'd done to Kali and refusing to hand her over than actual necessity.

Issei's eyes pulsed as he felt the information coming through his hands and into his own mind.

He saw how Kalawarner had come to be re-enslaved.

The blonde fallen that was chained next to him, watching in horror as her partner was being torn apart piece by piece. She had been the one to put the idea in his head. He would have to find out why she hated Kalwarner so much once he was done with this one.

They had travelled to South Africa, searching for a suspected group of sacred gear users. When they caught up to them, they snuck up to her while she slept, and latched the collar around her neck. Stupid and overly simple, but effective.

_Thanks for the gift Ananke. Lord Kokabiel will be pleased once he's able to implement these himself._

He heard the thought of when Kali was captured.

Now it was time to get her back.

"Repeat after me."

Dohnaseeks eyes glazed over as he stared at Issei.

"I, the fallen angel Dohnaseek."

It took a moment for him to comply, but he did, his words just as slurred as the last time Issei used this ability.

"Do hereby transfer the slave Kalawarner to Issei Hyoudou."

Dohnaseek tried to resist one more time, his brows furrowed. But he couldn't resist, the magic had its tight hold on him.

_"Do hereby transfer the slave Kalawarner to Issei Hyoudou."_

A dark purple circle came from under Dohnaseek, the same symbols that he'd seen on the iron collar.

Issei stood up, and glanced towards the blonde in disgust. He doubted that her reason was anything other than petty, and didn't even want to bother with learning it.

Issei walked back towards the entrance and caught sight of the devils he'd seen earlier.

Rias and Sona were flanked by their peerage members, all looking uneasy and ready to pounce at any sign of aggression.

Kiba had a sword in his hand, ready to protect and serve, as any good knight would. Akeno had her eyes locked onto Raynare, the usual smile not on her face.

Raynare swept her gaze over all of them, watching and waiting for them to make a move against her. She knew that the two teenage girls at the front were supposed to be stronger and more important than your average devil. But that didn't mean she wasn't confident in her ability to take them down.

Having enough of the little standoff, Issei walked forward towards the group and raised his voice in a commanding tone.

"Raynare, Sona, Rias. All of you stand down." It was easy to see that the two pure blooded devils didn't particularly like the way he was speaking to them.

_They_ were the ones that controlled this area. _They_ were the ones who gave out orders. But before them was a being of power that even united together they would be nothing but an irritant.

Rias was the first to listen, and nodded towards her knight, who slowly shifted back and let his sword disappear.

Sona and her group slowly following suit.

Issei turned to the naked fallen, who had her arms wrapped around a blonde nun that was shaking badly. His eyes softened at the two. Kalawarner hadn't changed a bit.

She kept a stern front. Once you managed to get passed that, you would see the caring and compassionate woman she truly was. If only she didn't let that stern and stubborn nature get the better of her at the worst times.

"It's done Kali. give me a minute and we'll get out of here."

He saw her nod against the blondes head as the rest just looked at him curiously.

Issei turned around, facing the church once more.

He raised his palms out to the sides, a chant that Nora had practically begged that he use for a new technique coming from his lips.

"Dark for fear of failure."

The light surrounding the church seemed like it was being directed anywhere else, sucked from the very atmosphere.

"An inner gloom as wide as an eye and fermenting."

The roof of the church burst open, as the group watched. All but Kalawarner in awe and fear of what they saw.

A rose. Its stem was covered in thorns, and at its peak were weeping flower petals.

A flower made entirely of blood and body parts.

Issei's left hand held a ball of that same green fire Rias witnessed on their first encounter.

It started to float up and towards the flower of blood.

"Roiling hate, death grip in my veins."

The ball touched the center petal, setting it a blaze in a mix of red and green.

The fire started to slowly catch the others, but never traveling down the stem.

"Unveiling rancid petals, flowering forth foul nectar."

Each petal started to drip liquid green fire into the church.

"The space between a blink and a tear, Death Blooms."

The green fire raced down the blood flowers stem, into the church.

The devils watched as green flicks of flame rose through the hole, a light building from inside.

Koneko stepped towards Rias, but never let her eyes leave the flower of fire.

"President. I can't feel any heat."

The light show had distracted them, and they hadn't noticed. But everyone agreed that they should at least feel some heat from a fire that large.

"His fire only burns what he commands it to."

The devils shifted to the naked fallen, who hadn't let go of the nun yet.

The fallens deep blue eyes swept over the devils.

"Those who know of his existence all acknowledge him as the strongest Red Dragon Emperor. And from pure strength alone he is. His magical abilities might be limited, but his control over the few fields he does use, very few even come close to his technical application."

The ground started to shake as the fire intensified.

The devils, Raynare, Kalawarner and the nun covered their eyes.

Once it died down, the area seemed so dark. It confused them, until they looked up and saw that the fire had gone out. No trace of it to be seen.

Issei turned and walked back towards the group, who were nervous about being near someone who could take on all of them with almost no effort.

Even though he had been declared an ally, They still knew very little about him.

Only the two fallen angels looked comfortable with his approach. One more than the other.

Kalawarner handed the nun off to Raynare and walked over to Issei.

"Nice to see you again Kali." Issei smiled towards his old friend.

And just like before when she was with him, she tried to keep a stern facade.

She wanted to smack him on the back of the head for taking so long to come for her. But once her hand started to raise, it shook, and she couldn't fight it any longer.

She crumbled against him, her face buried into his shoulder, nuzzling in as much as she could, her arms pulled in against her chest.

Issei wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back. After a minute of that, he whispered into her ear.

"As much as I appreciate the show, I think you need some clothes."

She ignored him for another minute, letting the thought of being free from that hell spread over her.

When she had her fill, Kalawarner pulled back enough to look Issei in the eyes.

"I'm not leaving again."

As much as it sounded like she was demanding that he accept it, Issei knew that she was really asking. Even though he'd already agreed, she wanted confirmation. It was just that stubborn front acting up because there were people she didn't know around them.

"Lets get you covered up, and once we're done with the devils, i'll take you home."

Issei stepped back, handing her the blazer of his school uniform.

When she slipped it on, it hardly covered her enough, thanks to her large breasts.

With the wrong gust of wind, her lower half would be shown to the world.

Issei looked over his schoolmates, briefly taking in the anger that Akeno was radiating. He would have to deal with that another day.

"What have you been told?" He addressed Rias and Sona.

The kings came forward.

"Almost nothing." Sona said. Rias crossed her arms, shifting her weight onto her left leg.

"We were only told to come find you."

Issei nodded, and a tick appeared on Rias' forehead, expecting that he would have elaborated the situation better than Grayfia had.

"Could _you_ explain what's going on?"

"Oh. Afraid not, sparkles made me promise."

Both Rias and Sona looked frustrated with that, but didn't argue. Prying more out of someone affiliated with their leaders probably wasn't the best idea.

They had only gotten the area of Kuoh on a slim margin, and didn't want anything to change their standing.

Rias rubbed the bridge of her nose, a very unladylike maneuver, but she was too irritated at the moment to care.

"Alright. Well, we should probably get started on moving our things then."

Issei seemed to stiffen for a moment, which everyone there had caught on to.

"You're moving? Where to?"

Sona spoke up for the group.

"Whatever happened over the last few hours has put the entire underworld on a lockdown of sorts. We've been ordered to stay within a single home, and basically not to stray too far from you."

Issei shook his head, this was a bit much in his opinion. But it was better than all of them moving in with him. Not that he had the room.

"A bit of an over reaction, but…understandable I suppose."

He only thought that, because he had more information than the devils did at the moment, thanks to a few friends from other factions.

"Dude, are you seriously not gonna tell us _anything?!"_ Sonas blonde haired pawn yelled out from near the middle of the group.

His king turned, ready to scold and punish him on sight, when she caught sight of Issei's face in her peripheral.

A blood thirsty grin that made her blood run cold.

Instead of answering directly, he turned towards Rias.

"I've never been one for hunting. But my friends have given me a permit, and I think i'm going to enjoy it this time. I wonder if the bird will still feel high and mighty as it falls from the sky."

As the devils thought over his words, Issei beckoned the two fallen and the nun to follow him.

**-LineBreak-**

As the group walked, Issei couldn't help but notice a particular aspect about the blonde girl, who still looked afraid of what was going on.

He felt a pull towards her, like she should be kept away from all dangers and anything deemed foul.

'Dragon Tamer.' He thought.

He'd met two before, and with them it had only been a slight tingle in the back of his mind. So that meant she had to have quite the affinity with dragons, as the others had been established for years, and were among the strongest active today.

"You're Asia Argento right?" Issei asked, breaking the silence.

The blondes head snapped up towards him, surprise and a little concern evident on her face. She nodded after a few seconds.

Seeing the fear, Issei smiled gently towards the girl.

"Don't worry, you're safe with me. No one is going to hurt you. I'm Issei Hyoudou. For the next few days at the very least, you'll be staying with me, alright?"

Raynare eyed him suspiciously, wondering _why_ the girl wouldn't just be sent to HQ. She shook her head of the thought. Raynare knew that Issei wasn't the type to use others for personal gain, it was just a bad habit she'd developed to think the worst of people.

Issei turned off from the street and towards the gate of a two story home, which they all took to be his residence.

"Seriously?" Raynare quipped. She knew that he could have a mansion of the largest caliber, with servants running around taking care of everything. But instead, he opted for the mundane.

"Ray, you know i've never been one for flaunting money. Nora and I always wanted our lives to be as normal as possible." He answered, knowing what her current gripe was.

She just scoffed. Why have money if you don't show it off, was her opinion on the matter. All the work he'd done for the worlds factions, there was no way he wasn't the richest human alive.

"It's looks warm." Asia spoke quietly, taking in the home as they stepped up to the door.

Unlocking the door, Issei stepped to the side, allowing the girls to enter first. Kalawarner needed no further coaxing, and strode in, ready to see her new residence.

Raynare lightly pushed Asia forward, Issei following behind, closing and locking the door behind him.

The tour was brief, but the three women all seemed to like the cabin feel throughout the house. Ray and Kali noticed how alike it was to the home he and Nora had on the island.

The four sat in the living room, the lamp in the corner giving a warm glow through the room. Kalawarner had been given a button down shirt and a pair of shorts from Issei to wear until they could go and buy some clothes.

Issei sat in his favorite chair, Kaliwarner in the one next to his, Ray and Asia sat on the couch across from him.

"With that out of the way…Ray." He addressed the violet eyed fallen.

"What is it brat?" She answered, as likable as ever.

"Good to see you too." He smiled, knowing that her attitude was _mostly_ just for show. She was probably upset that he hadn't come for them sooner.

"What are your plans now? Azazel was wondering when you'd finally accept his job offer."

She flinched at that. Not because she might be seen as a traitor to the rest of the fallen for ignoring their leader, but because of the internal situation she was dealing with.

For _years,_ she had tried to catch the attention of the governor general. Anything that could get her a little more time with him, was something that she was a fan of.

He'd offered her a position as an assistant for his lab. She'd work beside him on his artificial sacred gears, go out an find the necessary people and items needed to further their development. But be labeled even more as a subordinate.

Azazel didn't have many lines he wouldn't cross in the pursuit of women, but coworkers were a no-go for him. Any direct employee of his, would have no chance of a romance.

Issei caught on to her plight, watching as her eyes flicked from left to right in thought.

"I think his offer says all you need to know about your chances…" His voice gentle, not wanting to make the truth anymore painful than it already would be.

"Ise…Who's this?" Kali spoke.

She had vacated her chair, and was checking out the picture frames on the end table near the door.

The picture frame in her hand, was of Anna and Mari. Mari had decided that she wanted to go running through the woods where they had made the last garden. When Anna came out, with his daughter on her shoulders, both of them were covered in mud from head to toe.

There was no way that he could let the opportunity pass him up for a picture of that.

"After you left, Nora and I found another ring of slave traders. Anna was by far the most abused, so we picked her up before bringing them down. On her shoulders, is Mari…My daughter."

The silence that came over the group seemed to confuse Asia, as she looked between each of the people in the room with her. The two fallen angels seemed frozen in place.

Kaliwarner was shocked for more than one reason. She had just learned that Ise had another…slave. As well as a daughter.

There was no questioning who the mother was, as she looked at the picture.

That smile, the color of her hair, the shine in her eyes. It was like looking at a carbon copy of Nora.

Ray couldn't believe that, for the first time _ever…_ One of the dragon emperors had a child. It had never happened before.

They were notorious for drawing the attention of the opposite sex, but for some reason, no children ever came from it.

This was…monumental.

Asia stood from her spot on the couch, going over to the blue haired fallen to see the picture.

She smiled at the obvious joy of the two. A young woman with black long hair and amber eyes with a little brunette on her shoulders. They seemed to be so happy.

If staying here, with the man she had just met, could bring even a tiny bit of that happiness to her. She'd welcome it. Anything to dull the pain of the church and the fallen not wanting anything to do with her.

"She's beautiful." Asia spoke, turning to Issei.

Issei beamed her a thousand watt smile of pride.

"Thank you. She takes after her mother thankfully."

Asia returned the smile with one of her own.

"Issei, do you realize what she is?" Raynare broke the happy moment.

His smile wilted into just above neutral.

"She is my daughter. She is Noras daughter. That's all that matters."

Shaking her head, Raynare should have known that he'd write off the implications as unimportant.

"The daughter of the Red Dragon Emperor, and a member of one of the strongest devil families. And you're just living in a human town like you're anyone else…"

"Ray. Drop it please." Issei requested, to which she agreed. Honestly, he was so good at giving her headaches.

The conversation shifted, as Issei wanted to learn more about Asia, and how she had come into fallen hands.

He felt for the girl, after hearing what she'd been through. While not as…violent, of an ousting as his, they had both been abandoned by the church.

He had been requested to keep her here in his home for a few days, until a decision could be made about which faction would offer her a home. But that damn dragon tamer trait of hers was making him want to offer her a place here.

Another reason he wasn't too willing to let her leave, was the small bit of evidence uncovered earlier this evening. It seemed as though the events leading to her excommunication weren't as they seemed.

Namely, that the devil she'd healed, had set the whole scenario up from the start.

If she left, and went back to the fallen, the chance of him getting his hands on Asia were greater than he liked.

Now if the church would own up to their mistake and take her back, that wouldn't even be a concern. because she would be in the Vatican, back in her home country.

It wouldn't be worth the trouble for _any_ devil to try and steal her away, not with all the highly skilled exorcists present.

"Back to the topic at hand. Ray, you're welcome to stay. I know you don't like staying in one place too long, but the offer stands."

She nodded slightly, at least seeming like she was thinking over the offer. But they both knew that she'd decline.

"On to other things, I'll probably be gone before anyone wakes up tomorrow. I'll be going to pick up Anna and Mari. Probably won't come back until the morning after."

Kaliwarner set the picture down, and came back to her seat.

"Yasaka?" She asked simply. Issei nodded.

"I'm surprised that you didn't just move in with her, after what happened."

Issei shrugged, not surprised that she would think such a thing.

"I stayed there for almost a year, dealing with my new situation. Then some unsavory people started getting a little too close for comfort, so I took Anna and Mari away from there."

"I bet she didn't like learning you were leaving." Kalawarner quipped. her humor slowly coming out now that a bunch strangers weren't around.

When Issei looked to the side, as if finding the kitchen entryway interesting, made her gape at him.

"You didn't…" While it could be understandable if he'd been staying with someone he _didn't_ have chemistry with. Doing that to the fox seemed so unlike him.

"I did." He admitted sheepishly, scratching at the back of his head.

"It was the first time the group came anywhere close to where we were after she died. I panicked. Nora was stronger than half the ultimate class, and she was killed. Add in a baby and someone recovering from being abused for years nonstop, I didn't like the odds."

Asia had wide eyes. She had been able to piece together that this Nora woman was his wife, the mother of his child, and also a devil. Only now to hear that she was dead.

'His poor daughter.' She thought. Devil or not, no child deserved to not know their parents love. She could attest to that. It left you with a loneliness that was hard to fill.

"And how did she react to that?" Ray added.

"A few days ago was the first we've spoken since. She seemed a little upset that I didn't let her know first. Probably just so she knew where we were going and could keep in touch. Kunou took it harder though."

Kali nodded in understanding. A child that young, seeing their mother with another man so frequently over what they would see as a long period of time, would start to grow attached. He had not only effectively abandoned Yasaka with no warning, but her daughter also.

"So you'll be trying to get her _not_ to attack you tomorrow?"

Tapping his chin, Issei thought about the wording for a moment.

"Depends on what you mean by attack."

The two had confused looks on their faces.

"She made it quite clear that physical exertion will be had. But in what sense, and on who's part…I'm not sure." Which was the truth.

She had spoken as if she would just tear his clothes off the moment she saw him. But that could have just been her masking the anger in her usual flirty ways.

But Issei doubted it.

The two fallen now understood what he meant.

Ray tried to stifle her laughter with her hand, while Kaliwarner crossed her arms and pouted. It was no secret that she had wanted a night with him. Hearing that someone else would be getting it, upset her a little.

Only a little though, because she would be with him for a long time now. No reason to be too upset over not getting laid within the first 48 hours.

Asia looked clueless as to the hidden meaning they were all talking about.

Standing up from his spot, Issei stretched.

"It's pretty late, and I intend to see my daughter bright and early tomorrow. So lets head to bed."

Ray and Asia had taken the two spare rooms available, while Kaliwarner snuggled up to Issei in his bed.

As she drifted off to sleep, the smile on her face couldn't be more genuine. He had kept his promise of coming for her when she needed him.

**-LineBreak-**

Issei left before either Asia, Raynare or Kaliwarner had woken up. It would no doubt be a surprise for Mari. He'd told Anna that it would most likely be a few days before he called them back home. Instead, it was just over 24 hours.

He would count that as a victory. Even if it was escalated due to events that were hinting towards more conflicts.

He had never been away from Mari for more than a few hours, and it was killing him to get her back in his arms.

Teleporting himself into the heart of the Yokai capital was generally looked down upon, and often answered with hostile force. But Issei was an exception.

He had been granted access whenever he wanted it, a benefit from his relationship with their leader.

The sun had yet to rise, and the inside of the extravagant building was dimmed. The few guards standing in the corners of the room relaxed from the prepared stance almost immediately after they saw who it was that had come.

He gave them a smile and walked towards the hallway that he knew would lead him to his daughter and Anna.

Meeting a few more surprised Yokai along the way, Issei stood out of the double door that he could feel Mari and Anna cuddled behind.

With a practiced movement, Issei got the door open just enough to let him in. Almost all of these doors gave a loud creak once you opened them past a quarter of the way.

Slipping in, he saw them laying there.

Anna had Mari in a tight embrace underneath the covers. And his daughter was soaking up the warmth that emanated from the Nekoshou. Both had a slight smile over their faces.

Taking the steps lightly, Issei carefully lifted the covers and slipped inside the futon, letting the two girls continue to rest. He wanted to get a little bit more sleep as well.

The bodies next to him let Issei drift back into the sandmans embrace easily. Only to awaken from an enthusiastic squeal an hour later.

"Daddy's here! Daddy's here! Daddy's here!"

Issei woke up to the noise, along with the small arms that encircled his waist. His eyes groggily opened as Mari nuzzled her face into his stomach.

The first thing he saw, was the blinking eyes of Anna, having just been awoken by the hyperactive three year old as well.

Issei's hand instinctively went down to stroke his daughters head, much to her enjoyment. Giving Anna a smile that said how happy he was at the moment, he turned to Mari to give her the attention he'd been holding on to for the last day.

His other hand coming down to the little girls waist, Issei pried her from his waist, and brought her up to his face.

Smothering her cheeks in kisses as she giggled, Issei chanted.

"I missed you" Over and over again.

Once she tried to pull away, Issei pulled her into his chest, and gave a sigh of relief.

He'd heard about parents having a hard time being away from their kids. And until now, he'd never understood.

It was like having your heart and soul ripped from your body, and the aggressor waving it in front of you, just out of reach.

"mmmmmm. My baby. I love you so much."

Mari returned the hug for a brief moment before trying to pry herself off again. This time with more force.

"Daddy! i'm not a baby anymore! I'm three!"

But _oh_ how he wished she was still that little bundle of incomprehensible words again. Only three years old, and talking like she was ten. He was so going to have grey hair before he was thirty. At the rate she was mentally maturing, she'd start thinking about boys and dating by the time she was six….and he just wasn't ready for that.

He doubted he would ever be.

"No matter how old you get Mari, you are _always_ going to be my baby. I'll keep calling you that even when you're a thousand years old."

Issei smirked when he heard Anna giggle. He looked over towards her with a content look, just happy that he was near the two of them again.

"I missed you too Anna." He said simply, holding a hand out towards her, which she grabbed and placed over her heart.

She said nothing, but that wasn't out of the ordinary. She preferred to show how she felt.

Issei could feel the deep thumping of her heart.

"Has everything been okay over here?" He asked both of his girls.

While Anna gave only a slight nod, Mari was bobbing her head up and down so fast, he was surprised that she didn't feel dizzy afterwards.

"Daddy, Me and Kunou made flowers dance yesterday!"

The tension of the other day seemed to fall away in their presence.

"Oh? Will you show me later?" It was one of his favorite things, to play along with whatever his daughter was excited about. Youthful exuberance was so easily trampled on in this world, it needed to be preserved.

Mari nodded just as excitedly as before, before she nearly collapsed against him in exhaustion.

As she snuggled up to his chest, Issei pulled the blanket back over the three of them.

"lets get a bit more sleep eh?"

They needed no convincing, Mari loved sleeping in his arms. And Anna…well, she was a cat, the more sleep she could get the better.

**-LineBreak-**

Waking in her far too large of a bedroom, Yasaka stretched to wake herself.

Most of the night had been restless, with only a bare minimum amount of sleep coming her way.

That wasn't out of the ordinary. In fact it was so common, that she often used a natural sedative of sorts.

But those last few hours…They were…blissful. It was a quality of sleep she hadn't had in….quite a while.

Since the last time Issei had been in Kyoto as a matter of fact.

Thinking of the young man made her narrow her eyes in thought.

He would be coming by in the next few days, and when he did, she could only hope that things went over well.

She had made it pretty damn obvious how she felt about him. And he hadn't rejected her, only said that he needed more time.

The Fox understood, his late wife was one hell of a woman. And they had complimented each other so well.

If she had been in his position, she might have sworn off another relationship forever, as none would compare.

But Nora had been working on Issei to let her manage a harem for him, supposedly long before they were married. Yasaka suspected that Nora had been close to succeeding just before her death.

"These thoughts are of no use now…" She mumbled to herself, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing.

Useless as the thoughts may have been, they wouldn't stop. If Nora had succeeded before her death, Yasaka knew she would have more than likely already had one child from him.

That was a thought which made her heart swell and her stomach clench. Because when Issei came to Kyoto, there was the very possible reaction of him not taking what she suspected Inari would do, very well.

She would just have to have faith in the mutual attraction she knew was there. That he wouldn't walk out of her life forever.

Because unlike the normal methods of solidifying a relationship in the eyes of the gods, a Kitsune no Yomeiri was eternal.

It was a spiritual binding of two souls, done by the goddess herself. Marriage was merely a declaration.

Yasaka stood, as she checked her connection to the ley lines of Kyoto, the reason why she could never leave the city for very long.

Some days, sensing the connection was like a light switch, easy to turn on or off. On others it was like a gate valve, it could only be opened slowly.

Today was one of those gate valve days, meaning that there was a surge in the energy around them. This could be brought by many things, more tourists, or just a few stronger individuals entering the city as an example.

But then something caught her attention.

It was like a whisper in the back of her mind. Something telling her to be careful, to watch her surroundings.

There was a predator lurking in her territory.

'Strange…' She thought as her connection widened a bit more.

For _her_ to feel that the world around didn't acknowledge her as the top dog, meant that someone _above_ ultimate class power was near. That was unusual.

"Fufu, top dog. Ah, I do love a good pun." She chuckled before continuing her thoughts.

There weren't many beings of that caliber, fewer that would arrive without some form of notice. Only a few possibilities came to mind.

This person either didn't know that Kyoto was the Yokai capital in Japan, which was _very_ unlikely. No one got to be stronger then her without knowing things like that.

Or They knew, but weren't concerned about her reaction. There was only one species that would act that way as a whole.

Dragons.

Beings that generally did as they pleased, with only minimal regard for others not of their kind, or haven't earned their respect. Which she had.

So unless one of the Dragon Kings had suddenly decided to visit, there was only one person out of that category that it could be. One she wasn't expecting quite yet, but certainly wasn't opposed to.

Issei.

She supposed that it was just her hope that he was here earlier than expected, and that there was another explanation. But she would continue to think Issei had come early.

"Why not check on little Mari, two birds with one stone." She let go of her connection to the ley lines and strode to her door and into the dim hallway.

Being before sunrise still, the only ones awake were the nocturnal Yokai and the guards. So she had little in the ways of people to greet.

The guards and people she did pass however, all stiffened a little, not expecting to see her up and about so early. They had almost all been slouching in their posture, only to snap straight back up once they saw their leader.

Seeing this was both a little humorous, and annoying. It amused her when she first took leadership. But they should know by now that she wasn't some tyrannical leader, out to punish people for the smallest of infractions.

She'd voiced her grievance to Sun Wukong a few years back, the tiny monkey only cackled, and said that it was because they respected her that they all acted that way.

'I suppose things could be worse.'

Coming to the corridor where the other rooms were, she stopped at the intersection and smiled.

Her heightened sense of smell picking up on the very thing she was hoping for.

"So…You _are_ here." She whispered, her smile dropped a bit after that, turning into a pout that a leader certainly shouldn't show.

"But you didn't come and cuddle up with me. I suppose i'll just have to get my dues once you're awake."

Yasaka tapped a finger onto her chin. Her daughter Kunou hadn't seen Issei in just as long, and missed him almost as much as she did herself.

So why not grab Kunou and bring her along to greet their new guest?

Turning left instead of right, Yasaka made to do just that.

The walk was quick and quiet, as the guards in this hall knew that Kunou was easy to stir, and typically hard to get back to sleep. Only Yasaka could pick her daughter up without waking her. It was a mothers perk.

She opened the door slowly, thanking the guards that had oiled the noisy hinges, and stepped towards the bed where her daughter was curled up on top. The blankets had been kicked off of her body and onto the floor. It must have gotten a tad warm in here last night.

Kunous long blonde hair was splayed all over, her long red nightgown basically becoming her blanket, as she curled herself into it. Her ears and eyelids would twitch every so often as she dreamt.

Slowly and carefully, Yasaka lightly scooped her daughter into her arms, the young fox having her head on the chest of her mother. The young girl nuzzling into the warmth.

"Mama." Kunou mumbled.

Yasaka had to hold herself back from reacting. her daughter hadn't called her Mama in what felt like forever, she missed it. But in preparing her daughter for high class etiquette, Mother was the only term that had been deemed acceptable, by the ones educating her.

With measured steps to make sure Kunou stayed asleep, Yasaka made her way back to the hallway and towards the room where Mari, Anna, and hopefully Issei were.

As she stepped closer, she noticed two things. First, was that the scent of her query was getting stronger, a good sign of him still being in the room. Second, was that the door was still open, something that Anna wouldn't have done.

Yasaka pushed the guest rooms door open carefully, her back pressed against it, since Kunou was in her arms. It only gave a small creak at the point where she could squeeze passed. Turning around, she stood there taking in the image before her.

There they were, all three of them.

Issei was dead center of the futon, with little Mari curled up on his chest snoring lightly, one of his hands placed on the center of her back. Anna was to his left, his hand being hugged to the Nekoshous chest like a life saver.

It was _exactly_ what she'd wanted when she was a little girl. To be with the love of her life and their child, sleeping peacefully as if nothing else mattered. Of course things never go as one hopes, not when you're expected to lead an entire group of races.

Sacrifices need to be made, rules enforced, people lead.

Yasaka had done her duty to the best of her ability, the only thing that had ever been as important as her position, was her daughter.

The years of unrest between the various species of Yokai had long passed, and it was now possible for her to have the other piece of the puzzle.

And that piece was asleep before her.

it only needed to slide into place.

With any luck, that could happen later today.

With the grace that her species was vaguely known for, Yasaka knelt down on the opposite side of Issei. With Kunou held in place, Yasaka slowly rolled onto her side to face him. One arm to act as her daughters pillow, the other to wrap over her side and onto Issei's chest just above Maris head.

She felt Kunou nuzzle in further, liking the warmth surrounding her now. Yasaka closed her eyes, looking forward to the rest of the day, while hoping for the best.

**-LineBreak-**

Sitting in his office, Sirzechs was having a hard time believing what he'd read and heard. Although he was of two minds of it.

The side of him that was a leader of the underworld, was greatly ashamed and disappointed. While the brother in him was jumping for joy.

He had gotten Rias out of the engagement.

And meeting Issei Hyoudou was the catalyst.

Serafall, Himself and Grayfia had gone to two of the hideouts that they were given the location of from the Red Dragon Emperor.

The first one, had been part of a series of bunkers in Russia, remnants from the last human world war.

There had been little to find there, a few manifestos and documents of items being moved around.

There was only one thing that had stood out.

A list of shipment dates of phoenix tears, some of which had yet to happen.

The document listed where they were to be received, how many, and coded destinations for where they were going.

One of those coded destinations, was fairly easy for the three of them to unravel, as it had been a key position in the civil war. Auros, an area that had been paramount due to its agricultural nature.

With fields to harvest as far as the eye could see, it wasn't hard to imagine some fugitives using this area to hide.

It almost felt like old times, He and Serafall in that region, scouting for enemies.

Truthfully, the only reason it wasn't only Serafall, was in case of resistance. The leviathan was more than capable of defending herself, but if there were enemies of the underworld here, they wanted it to be handled swiftly.

If she were vastly outnumbered, there was little chance for Serafall to capture anyone for questioning. And what better back-up, then the strongest devil to ever exist, and his queen.

Serafall had been proceeding alone, with him and Grayfia on standby, as she was much better with stealth. It helped that she was rather short.

She kept a magic circle recording anything she could hear attached to her.

When she finally called for them to approach her location, there were 4 people encased in ice in a barn. A few boxes of tears off to the side.

The eery smile on her face told him all that he needed until they were done there. She _had_ found something out. Something big apparently.

And it was.

Apparently Riser had been there himself, along with someone Serafall didn't recognize. Riser was complaining that it was taking too long for the marriage to take place after fulfilling his end of the deal.

The other man, waved off his ranting by stating that if he was so concerned about the political gain, then he could have Misla Bael after they kidnapped her and Eneely Vassago.

'Oh I can't wait to get you into that Arena Riser.' Sirzechs thought with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Riser may have the famed Phenex regeneration, but that meant nothing if his entire being was destroyed at once. He was sure that Issei could accomplish that with little effort.

If that had been all they learned, there would have been no reason to shut the borders of the underworld. They would have just put some heavy hitters to guard the ones named.

But he had Serafall work on the ones that they had captured. She wasn't the one in charge of foreign affairs for nothing. She was quite talented at extracting information from people.

Be it from seduction, torture, interrogation or just annoying them into giving in.

One of the detainees was actually human, a stray exorcist. And he had some _very_ interesting things to say about the group he had joined.

"Now…how to word this so it doesn't tip them off that we know as much as we do…"

_That_ would take some careful consideration.

**-LineBreak-**

The morning and early afternoon had gone by, with Issei just spending time with his family, Yasaka and Kunou. But by the looks Yasaka was giving him, his time in clothes was wearing down.

She'd also said that Inari wanted to see the two of them. Which was strange, as she almost never wanted to be bothered. Lazy fox.

Anna and Yasaka had just shared a brief chat, just quiet enough so that he couldn't hear it.

The Nekoshou took both Kunou and Mari by the hand, and led them out to the gardens to play some more.

Then the Youkai leader descended on him with a clear goal in mind.

They had just had lunch in a smaller room then she would use to entertain any other guest. Because this wasn't her trying to show how her position, but merely some time spent between friends and family. There were no guards in here, as they had been outside of the room since they entered.

That should have been his first clue of what would happen in this room.

Yasaka pulled her hair out of the usual ponytail, letting it fall to its full length at her lower back. As she stepped towards where he was sitting, her hands came and loosened the sash of the red yukata she had decided to wear. Seeing her in anything but her usual Miko attire was an unusual sight.

The robe had already been showing a good amount of her large breasts, and now was about to fall off her shoulders. It was barely holding itself closed altogether, as he could see down the valley of her chest and to her naval before it came back together. Her tails making the back rise up slightly.

"Time to pay up huh?" Issei asked with a hint of humor.

Yasaka mock pouted as she straddled his lap, her hands draping over his shoulders.

"You make it sound like a business transaction. Have you not enjoyed our….Physical interactions?"

His hands coming to her waist, Issei shook his head.

"If i didn't like it, there would have never been a second time."

Her pout turned into a grin.

"Good. Because I intend to make up for lost time. You _did_ leave me without a proper goodbye."

He chuckled at her as she leaned closer.

"I get the feeling that your definition of a proper goodbye, would involve taking off our clothes, and then me wondering if i'm having another baby."

Yasaka closed the small distance between them, one hand holding the back of his head, while the other pulled her sash completely open. Once their lips connected, Yasaka immediately pressed further. Her tongue glided across the lower lip of the man she rested on, an action he accepted and reciprocated.

"Its good to know you can read between the lines. And here I thought i'd have to embarrass myself telling you what I wanted." She said once their tongues had separated.

"I don't believe you being embarrassed is possible." Issei felt her grab his hand and direct it to her chest.

She leaned to whisper in his ear, and he could smell the various flowers she and their daughters loved so much.

"I want you inside me. _Deep_. _Hard_." She took in a shuddering breath as she felt his thumb roll over her nipple, and his member start to rise.

"I want to wince with a smile for days after we're done. I want to feel you fill me with the warmth of your seed."

She pulled back to look him in the eyes. Her free hand gliding down his chest and towards his pants. The button and zipper quickly undone with a flick and pull.

"I can assure you, that i'd be quite mortified if I had to say that in front of our children and the guards."

The thought alone was making her cheeks flush, her breathing coming in near pants, making her exposed chest heave. The light brown eyes of the one she wanted almost making her melt in anticipation.

He just had a way of looking _into_ her. He didn't just see the Leader, or the body she had. He saw _her._ He _knew_ her. And she loved every time they were alone together.

"I think i'd just drag you to a broom closet if you did that." He admitted.

Her words were tailor made to stir his own desire.

He could feel her hand coast over the top of his boxers, and slowly make its way to undoing the button. The look in those golden eyes told him that she wasn't too far from just ripping his clothes off.

If they were in a place where he could easily just replace them, that wouldn't be a problem.

But they were in the center of the Yokai leaders palace, where guards patrolled, civilians walked, and children played…Specifically Mari and Kunou.

And teleporting home wouldn't be that great of an option either, with an innocent nun staying there for the time being.

"If _that's_ all it would take, i'll have to keep it in mind." As her hand slipped into his boxers, a smirk came over her face, feeling the undeniable proof that Issei was attracted to her.

Issei was about to take control of the situation he found himself in, lest he be forced to parade around others completely naked. But was beaten to it by a hand on his chest forcing him to lay back on the blanket that had been previously placed here.

How she managed to do it, he would forever be left in the dark. But as his body fell back, Yasaka had moved quick enough to pull his T-shirt over his head. Once he'd laid down, she shifted herself to be able to pull his pants and boxers off in one movement.

Feeling the breeze along his now naked form, Issei blinked and looked to where the fox was tossing her only form of clothing to the side as well.

Yasaka was a beautiful woman that few could ever hope to match. Long slender legs that led to her wide hips and small waist. Her tails swished around excitedly as she turned towards him, and hips swaying with each step.

Her large breasts, smooth and perfectly formed, partly gave away how much she wanted this by the clearly hardened nipples at their peak.

Issei looked her over appreciatively, it had been a while since he last saw her like this.

Right now, Yasaka was not a leader. She was just a woman who wanted to physically express how they each knew the other felt…but had never voiced.

Issei gazed up at her as she stood directly above him, giving Issei a complete up close view of her body.

His eyes traveled up her legs, stopping for a moment at the clean shaven and glistening junction between, before continuing up.

As his eyes gazed from her breasts and towards her face, Yasaka knelt down slowly, moving forward and onto all fours so that their faces were only inches apart.

All he could see besides her, was the golden hair that formed a curtain around them.

"I hope you're ready for today Ise."

One of her hands moved lower, and out of view.

"Because I have a years worth of sex to make up for."

He felt the soft skin of the missing hand wrap around his shaft, guiding the tip to sit right at the wet entrance of the woman on top of him.

Leaning down to kiss him, Yasaka sank her hips down, letting his member slowly slide into her.

Her left hand holding her up, the right came to rest against his cheek as their tongues swirled against each others.

Yasaka moaned into the kiss as Issei felt the familiar warmth constrict against him.

She broke off the kiss and leaned to sit up, his hands coming to rest on her hips.

The foxes eyes were closed and her head tilted back as she rocked her hips forward and back slowly, getting reacquainted with the feeling she hadn't had in far too long.

Issei helped her along, enjoying the view of Yasaka kneading her breasts as she started to lose herself in the act.

The other times they'd slept together, Issei was usually the one to take control. Seeing her on top, going from a back forth motion, to up and down as he slid into her was something he could easily get used to.

Her moans got louder as the motions got more rapid.

Issei reached up, taking a breast in each hand and massaging them just a bit harder then she'd been doing herself.

Her breath got ragged, her hands clasped his to her chest as she felt Issei thrust up to meet her pace.

Yasaka could feel the tightening of her core, the pulsing of the cock so wonderfully jabbing at her womb.

She wanted to feel that fall into nirvana _so badly_ …But at the same time, she wanted to draw this out as long as she could. Having Ise here, with her, _inside_ her, she loved it.

She loved the way he looked at her, the way he made her feel, the gentle way he interacted with Kunou even when she was acting up.

It was an act of selfishness that she had gotten on top this time. While somewhat certain that he would come back fairly regularly once more, she wanted to stay this way forever. It hurt in a way she wasn't prepared for, when he suddenly left.

Even if only for a little while, Yasaka wanted to feel that she had some sort of control in keeping him here.

But she knew, that at least for the next two years, it wasn't going to happen. Even though Nora was no longer living, she knew that Issei would keep the promise they'd made together.

A thought popped into her head, of something she'd read a few weeks prior that had intrigued her.

Yasaka stopped her movements, looking down to her lover with a sly smirk at the obvious expression of pleasure on his face.

She took his hands in hers and gently held them down above his head as she claimed his lips.

The breathy moan she elicited from him only spurring her on to get both of them to cum so hard they'd be dizzy.

She knew, after the dry spell she'd forced herself into, that _any_ orgasm created from being with Issei would turn her legs to jelly for at least an hour. But Issei had been dealing with Anna and her going into heat just recently, so she wanted to try a position that _supposedly_ would quickly drive them over the edge.

She pulled her head back, and lifted her hips up, getting Issei to slid out of her completely. She ignored the empty, almost cold feeling that created.

Issei gave her a curious look, as she'd never stopped when he could tell they were both getting close.

He was about to ask what was up, when she pecked him on the lips again turned the other direction.

She leaned forward, one arm keeping her from falling and the other reaching for him again.

His eyebrows rose as she flicked her tails up towards her back, letting him see her perfectly round ass along with the juices dripping from her core and down her thighs.

As her hand wrapped around him, she flicked her hair over the front of her shoulder and looked back to him with a look of pure lust.

She let her legs slide apart just a bit more, causing him to slide partially back into her, they both let out quiet groans.

Issei finally understood what she was doing as Yasaka started to raise her hips slowly up before crashing back all the way down.

Yasaka faced forwards, clenching the blanket in her grip. She picked up the pace, reveling in the feeling that was so alike to her favorite doggy style position, yet stimulated her nerves in a brand new way.

"Fuck! Yes!" She yelled into the cloth as Issei grabbed her by the hips and met her motions, making him slam into just the right spot over and over again.

The feeling of him bottoming out inside of her from this position was quickly bringing her back to that edge she _so_ wanted to dive off of.

"Harder Ise!" She wanted more.

At that moment, she didn't care how many could hear her screams. All she cared about was the divine feeling that came from Issei grabbing her by the hips and slamming her down as he thrust up at the same time.

For Issei, the position was new and _oh so_ mesmerizing. Hearing her moans and screams of pleasure only added to the sight of her ass bouncing up and down in front of him. The way he could see her pussy engulf him entirely and eagerly flipped a switch as primal and primitive as the desire to eat and breathe.

They were going at a speed that a normal human couldn't match, and their hips met with a force that would shatter a pelvis. But neither of them showed any sign of slowing doing or easing up.

"Faster baby! Fuck me faster!" Now he tell that she was close.

That was the only time she'd use a pet name, when names were lost in the euphoria shooting through her.

He could feel it too. Just a bit faster, just a little harder, and they would get what they both wanted.

His grip tightened a bit more as he gave her what she wanted.

The room had disappeared in their carnal journey, only the echoing grunts, moans and screams accompanied by the soft cloth beneath them. They could have been out in the middle of a banquet hall with hundreds of people for all they knew.

Yasaka could feel herself tightening, convulsing around him, just as she could his cock pulsing inside of her, swelling and hitting those nerves even more.

If her eyes were open, she doubted she'd be able to tell if the room was completely dark or filled with an absurd amount of light.

She bit into the blanket as he hit a spot that had her gasping. Yasaka could feel the dam breaking, caving under the pressure placed upon it. Each time she raised her hips, with every thrust from Issei, more cracks appeared.

She could hear his breathing picking up and getting more ragged between grunts. He was as close to that blissful climax as she was.

"So…Tight." She heard him get out between thrusts. That in itself told her how much he was liking this. He'd never been much of a talker during their few and far between sessions.

Just a bit more.

"I'm so close! Cum inside me Baby! Paint my pussy white! Fill me with it!"

A few more thrusts and the dam broke, bringing a flood of mind shattering bliss that had her unable to tell up from down, or hot from cold.

He pulsed once more inside her as she screamed her lungs out into the blanket, before she felt that warmth she'd missed for the last year. Each shaky thrust up into her let Yasaka feel that fluid heat as it shot up into her.

Unfortunately, she wasn't in heat. But all the same, Yasaka could feel her body soaking it in like a sponge each time her insides clenched involuntarily.

She collapsed face first into the blanket, the orgasm leaving her winded and unable to keep herself propped up.

After a few seconds of trying to catch her breath and get rid of the vertigo that came over her, Yasaka felt that cold empty feeling again.

It was quickly replaced once she felt a pair of arms wrap around her just under her breasts, pulling her to lay on her side. She could feel the deep breaths Issei was taking in.

"I missed you too." He said, as he leaned and kissed the side of her jaw just below the ear. A spot he _knew_ she was weak for.

Once she had gotten control of her limbs back, Yasaka each of her hands over his, holding them closer to her.

The sex haze made her want to blurt out the words she'd been holding in, but thankfully was coherent enough to keep them in for a bit longer. If the rain fell under the shining sun, then she'd say them.

Her eyes refocused onto the room they were in, a smile breaking over her face as the familiar scent bombarded her nose. But then her eyes caught a different sight.

Issei felt her suddenly go stiff in his grip.

Leaning over to see her face, he saw that her eyes were locked on the opposite side of the room.

Slowly, he followed her gaze, to see what it was that she'd seen.

' _Well that's unfortunate.'_

The door to the room, which was sound proofed since it was supposed to be for private meetings, was slightly open.

Which meant that anyone on the other side would've been able to hear the rather…vulgar things the Yokai leader had screamed just a few minutes prior.

"I guess the guards have their suspicion confirmed now." She said as she relaxed into his arms again.

Issei rose an eyebrow.

"You mean they didn't know?"

Yasaka shook her head no.

"I was careful about when and where we ever had sex."

She sighed as she untangled herself from him, and sat up.

"I suppose there's no need to look presentable right out of this room. But we will need to be , when we head over to Lady Inari."

**END**

**So, first lemon i've ever written. Tell me how it was. Too short? Not descriptive enough?**

**We'll go over what happened in more detail with Issei learning about what's going on next chapter. Along with Issei and Yasaka going to inari.**

**There will also be a line drawn in the sand about how involved Issei will get with the devils and their world.**

**I was intentionally vague about a lot of things in this chapter.**


	5. Chp 5

The journey of ten thousand gates, was made hand in hand, by Issei and Yasaka.

While he contemplated on just what in the world Inari could want from him, Yasaka seemed content to either stare at him, or enjoy the peaceful walk.

Yasaka _supposedly_ didn't know what this was about, but the way she seemed to tense every so often, told him that she had at least a suspicion. That led him to believe that he may not like whatever it was.

Anna had also seemed a little too eager to get the kids out of the way.

Prying both Kunou and Mari off of him had been a ten minute fiasco.

"Are you staying tonight as well?" The blonde fox asked, giving him another glance.

They still had a ways to go, until the end of the path. It would probably take another 30 minutes.

"I don't have school tomorrow, So I can if you want me to." Issei answered, looking down to their joined hands.

She had been very adamant about not teleporting themselves there, instead taking the time to walk. As soon as they were out on public streets, she'd taken his hand in hers.

She stopped, looking to Issei much more intently now, than compared to the easy going smile she had during the entire walk so far.

"If it were up to me, you'd be moving back in."

Issei opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off.

"I missed you Ise. Kunou missed you too."

**_[Understatement of a lifetime, right there.]_** Ddraig commented.

Issei had to agree. The way Kunou had attached herself to him the moment she awoke proved as much. As for Yasaka…well she had shown him, how much she missed him.

Clearly she hadn't quite finished with that yet, based on some of the looks.

"Yasaka-" He was cut off again.

"I know you have obligations, and your promise to keep. But…what about after? Please?"

Issei wondered if it was just because he cared about her so much, or if the sad puppy eyes were truly more effective because she was of canine origin. Whatever it was, she didn't need to deploy that look on him.

She'd know that if she would let him speak.

He waited, and the silence hung between them for almost an entire minute.

"Can I speak now?" He asked cheekily.

She batted him on the shoulder with a pout.

"Jerk."

He chuckled at how easy it was to get to her. The famed and powerful nine tailed fox of Kyoto, pouting. Sometimes, being him was awesome.

"If we can remove enough of the threat to Mari, then yes Yasaka. But lets hold off on that talk until-"

This time, he wasn't so much as interrupted, as he was taken off of his feet entirely.

Yasaka lunged at him, an excited squeal echoing through the makeshift tunnel of wooden Torii gates.

Her arms were latched around his neck, as she burrowed into his chest.

As Issei wrapped his arms around the woman on top of him, he relented to getting to the shrine a little later than anticipated. Inari could wait.

There were few things on his list of importance even close to his family. Yasaka and Kunou were about as close to that as anything ever would be.

**-LineBreak-**

Being enslaved, Kalawarner was used to her thoughts mainly pertaining to getting her life back.

Now that she had her freedom, so to speak, she didn't know what to do.

The house was clean and organized, there wasn't any shopping or gardening that needed to be done.

In short, she was bored.

Raynare had taken off almost as soon as she woke up, reporting back to Azazel about what had been going on.

Kali didn't care about any of that anymore, which Ray had found appalling.

That woman was totally obsessed with proving herself to the fallen leaders, Azazel especially.

But Kali had sworn, just before Issei had burst into the church, that she would renounce her allegiance to the fallen if he saved her.

Which he had, so she followed through on her part.

Waking up to an empty bed had been a little disappointing, but she knew that Issei would be back. He always kept his promises.

Being that her and Asia hadn't really talked much in the church, she decided to take the little nun out for some shopping. Get to know her a little, and make her more comfortable. She'd only had that one outfit, and _boy_ was it dirty.

They both needed some clothes, and Issei had been thoughtful enough to leave a stack of cash on the end table with a note, letting her know that she should get anything she wanted with it.

Buying some lingerie was a tempting thought. Sure, she didn't mind waiting a day or two, but anything longer than a week was out of the question. If that man didn't fuck her senseless soon, she'd tie him to the bed and do it herself.

So here they were, walking down the street of Kuoh, passing a few bakeries and hardware stores on the way to a clothing shop Kali deemed good enough.

"Lady Kalawarner, have you know mister Issei long?"

It was quite a sight, seeing the anxious nun out of her habit.

They had each appropriated some clothes from the other woman living in the house.

Anna, was her name?

It worked beautifully for Asia, as the two were apparently the same height and general size.

The blonde Italian girl was in a white skirt that reached down to just above her knees, and a light blue T-shirt with a rather deep neck-line.

Poor Asia seemed so embarrassed, as this was the most skin she had ever shown in public.

Kali was drawing a lot of attention from any man that happened to walk by.

She had also taken a skirt and T-shirt.

The black skirt hardly reached passed her ass. And the shirt left her midriff revealed, thanks to her larger bust.

She had cast a spell on the iron collar, to make it appear as a choker to any humans.

"Just call me Kali. I'm not a superior, or anyone deserving of your respect. We were in the same position just the other day."

Asia fidgeted with her hands nervously, but nodded.

"As for your question, I've known Issei for a few years. Him and his…wife, helped me get out of pretty much the same situation I was in yesterday."

She'd known that Nora was dead, thanks to her being handed off to Dohnaseek, they hadn't been talking as quietly as they thought. To say that she was surprised that someone so young and powerful had been taken out, was an understatement.

Life truly was a cruel mistress.

"He seems nice. A little scary, but nice." Asia said quietly, as the approached a store that seemed to have everything they would need.

Kalawarner stopped, wanting to say her piece before focusing on the shopping ahead of them.

"Issei is to me, what _God_ is to you. My savior, my light, my reason for living. I forgot that once, and I paid the price. If there was anyone to put your trust in, its him."

Asia had a very thoughtful look as they walked into the store, missing the red and black haired young women that were heading in the same direction.

Kalawarner did not, glancing towards them as they passed through the automatic doors.

She saw that Rias gave her a narrow eyed look, and Akeno was outright glaring at her. But she didn't care.

The scent of different perfumes was nearly overwhelming after taking a few steps into the store. The bright fluorescent lights beaming and buzzing down on the various items for sale.

"Hello! My name's Sakura! What can I help you with today?" Came an enthusiastic voice from off to the right.

Asia jumped, not expecting someone to approach them at all. Kalawarner pulled the wad of cash out from her cleavage and flashed it to the sales woman.

If you want good service in a commission based environment, flash da cash.

The thick stack of bills made the womans eyes widen.

She was hardly taller than Asia, black straight hair with crimson highlights in her bangs. There was a clear slur to her words, thanks to the tongue piercing that Kalawarner suspected had to be new, and still healing.

'Hmmm…Wonder if Ise would like that?' She thought, making a mental note to ask the woman while Asia was in the dressing room.

"I'm Kali, this is Asia, and we are in _dire_ need of some clothes."

The saleswoman couldn't have moved faster, taking them by the arms and giving her coworkers a snotty look.

She must have been near the bottom of the pool as far as commission numbers.

Not after today she wouldn't be.

"Excellent! Let's get started shall we? The beginning of any great wardrobe, is with the right underwear!"

Asia went bright red at the mention of unmentionables. While the blonde was wearing some she'd borrowed from the house, Kali was not. She was a bit larger than that other woman. In height, bust, and waist. Plus she just preferred to go commando, it would make undressing more fun when Issei was around.

The door opened, revealing the king and queen of the Gremory peerage, as the new occupants of the Hyoudou home were ushered away.

Kaliwarner let Asia go first, knowing that this was her first experience in buying anything of actual value for herself. She felt it was only right.

Seeing Asia loaded with different styles and colors was hilarious, as she was steered towards the dressing room.

Letting the nun go first, also head the benefit of getting her out of range if the two devils wanted to confront her about anything.

'Right on schedule.' Kali thought, as the red head and former fallen approached her.

Rias brushed off three sales people on the way over, saying they would grab them once they decided on anything.

"Good afternoon, it's nice to see you clothed this time, as inappropriately as it may be." Kali assumed the remark was meant to be demeaning, but she couldn't care less. They didn't know what she'd been about to have done to her last night.

"Parading around naked is a better outcome to being raped by a psychopath, i'd take that any day."

That sure as hell shut them up, as Rias went pale and Akeno lost most of the hate in her eyes. It didn't matter if you hated the other woman, that was something they could all agree on.

"I…I don't know what to say…" Rias said quietly.

Kalawarner waved her off with a smile on her face.

"Don't worry about it. I'm free now, and thankfully Ise stepped in before anything could come of it."

Normally she'd be hesitant with being around anyone she didn't know. But the high she was on couldn't be trampled that easily. Plus she would have to play nice with the resident devils, since they lived in the same town.

"Free? But…The collar…" Akeno whispered.

Kalawarner rose an eyebrow.

"What about it?" She tugged on the iron jewelry, looking to see if something was different. There was nothing she could spot.

"It marks you as still being a slave…right?" Kali had to wonder how long the two had been together, as they alternated sentences.

"You two don't know him very well, do you?"

When she was met by silence, Kali started to laugh lightly behind her hand.

"How long _have_ you known him? Because if you know him even a little, you'd know that my situation is more like a trophy wife than slave."

The two narrowed their eyes at the full blooded fallen angel, the urge to start an argument was almost overwhelming for them.

Rias managed to catch herself, and coughed into her fist.

"Why does he have you dressed like this?" Rias gestured towards the way Kali was dressed.

Kali caught the underlying words, _Why are you dressed like a slut?_

"You do remember how I was naked last night right?"

The two nodded.

"The only clothes I owned were destroyed." She answered simply.

"He put a stack of cash on the end table before taking off this morning. So I thought it would be nice to get Asia and I some clothes while he was away."

Kali watched as the queens eyes bored intensely into her.

"Where'd he go?"

Kalawarner was wondering if Issei had started affecting her yet. She was supposed to be descended from Baraqiel right? That's what she'd heard at least.

How Issei didn't have a harem of dozens of fallen was beyond her. Even Penemue had been affected at one point. She remembered watching the chief secretary spasm just from a slight touch.

"Off to see his daughter."

Rias and Akeno shared a look, one Kali couldn't determine the meaning behind.

"That doesn't answer the question." Rias said, a hand on her hip, and attempting to look high and mighty.

It wouldn't work on Kalawarner. She only answered to one person, and it certainly wasn't this girl.

"No, I suppose it doesn't." Kalawarner turned towards the rack she had been about to peruse, ignoring the devils in favor of wondering how to put these to use for her primal goals.

If the amount of money Issei had left was anything to go by, he wouldn't mind if she used it on designer brands. It wasn't like he didn't have enough for a dozen human lifetimes.

She could feel the glare from the two into the side of her head.

"$100 for one pair of panties? Hmm…must be good stuff." She said, mostly to herself.

Most of her life had been spent with the bare minimum, things like this were never something she'd opt for. But hey, why not try some new things?

"Eep!" She could hear Asia yell out, as the curtain shuffled.

"You okay in there Asia?" Kali said without turning away from the lacy black fabric that might as well be transparent.

"Miss, I need you to stay still so I can get the appropriate size." Sakura the sales woman said from the same dressing room.

Ah, so it was just sheltered innocence meeting a handsy saleswoman. At least now she'd be more aware when it was her turn.

Rias and Akeno, having enough of not getting the answers they were looking for, stepped close to Kalawarner.

"I would appreciate it, if you would answer the question, _fallen._ " The word was spat out, as if it were supposed to be some sort of great insult. She knew what she was, Rias didn't need to remind her.

It also seemed a little hypocritical, seeing her choice for a queen.

Kali took a breath, putting the underwear down on the bench.

"Look, i'm not trying to start anything here. I don't know how much Issei has told you. I finally have what I want, and don't want to ruin it. I have no clue if he would be okay with me telling you where he is, or who he's with. He should be back tomorrow, and then will probably want to just hang out with his daughter. So ask him at school on Monday."

Rias maintained fierce eye contact, aquamarine eyes peering into dark blue. The Gremory heiress wanted an answer, because she had just been made aware that she was breaking the rules given to her last night. If things were dire enough to basically place her on house arrest, she wanted to know why he was out gallivanting with others. Surely there was a better use of his time.

However, she also had to concede that the fallen had a fair point. Issei was her master for now, the last thing she should do, is offer up information he might not want getting out. How much Rias wished the fallen would just spit it out, was merely her own bias.

"Akeno, we need to head home." Rias said after weighing her options briefly.

Akeno looked over to her king quickly, not wanting to leave this… _vermin_ , here in full health.

"Before you do that, I have a question." The two looked back over to the busty blue haired fallen.

Kali looked at Akeno, wanting to gauge her response.

She would admit, that Rias' queen was quite a looker. The black hair and violet eyes were definite head turners, and a bust that big at her age was rare to find anywhere in the world, supernatural or otherwise.

If Issei cared about such a thing, he'd easily be smitten with her. She looked a lot like Raynare, only a lot less volatile, which could only work in her favor.

"Had Issei on the brain a lot lately? Like this nagging feeling that you need to be around him? Or maybe want to do things you never otherwise would?"

Kali watched as Akenos eyes started to widen with each statement.

It was just as she thought, Issei was dragging yet another angel into his grasp. He probably forgot to mention it, but the only way this girl would have any chance, was if she distanced herself.

She didn't see that happening anytime soon.

Kali turned to Rias. In the spirit of a peaceful coexistence, she'd give her recommendation to the redhead.

"I'd recommend you try and keep her away from Issei for a while, it'll help to clear her head. Since she's only half fallen, he probably hasn't affected her that badly yet."

Akeno bristled at just the mention of not being able to see the one that had plagued her mind lately.

"Mind your own business!"

Rias though, rose a brow, genuinely curious as to what Kalawarner meant.

"Affected her how? Some sort of magic?"

Issei was powerful, from what they'd seen, but she was sure that she'd notice magic being used on her queen.

"Not magic in the way we think of it. More like a gravitational pull, it's much worse on full blooded angels, fallen or not."

The look in Kalis eyes got more serious, her nonchalance completely erased.

"Issei isn't doing it on purpose, but she's being drawn to him. If you're not careful, she could end up straying from you in order to be closer to him, when he eventually leaves town. Trust me on this."

Because it almost got her killed the first time around.

**-LineBreak-**

They were approaching the last of the gates along the path, just before they entered the shrine.

The little outburst Yasaka had, cost them an extra 35 minutes. There was little he could do to placate the amorous Kitsune, that wouldn't result in him hurting her, when she was in one of those moods.

Not that he wanted to, in any way. But having sex outdoors, where humans were able to see them, was something he would try to not make a habit of.

After they had gotten themselves redressed and moving, Issei noticed something starting to build.

He wasn't really sure what it was, but knew without a doubt that it was there.

_"Ddraig, what is this, that i'm feeling?"_ He asked the dragon attached to his soul.

He could tell that Ddraig had been intentionally absent for a while. He was definitely awake, but was ignoring Issei for some reason.

Issei understood that Ddraig didn't want to interfere with any of his hosts love life, a lesson learned over time he supposed. But this felt different.

Whatever he was feeling, was both around him, and inside him.

It wasn't some sort of normal magic, but it felt divine in nature. He'd have been more concerned, if it didn't feel so…inviting. Like whatever this was, it was something he should welcome. That he wanted it on some level.

Issei had learned long ago, to trust his gut. If it felt right, then it was. 95% of the time, his gut was right.

The last of the red gates was directly in front of him now, and the stairs leading up to the shrine were in view.

This place never ceased to impress him. The classic Japanese design, with the swooping roof, well maintained grounds, fox statues, and freshly painted exterior.

Actually, now that he looked a little closer, it was _very_ fresh paint.

Were they preparing for some sort of important event?

**_[It's what you've been missing.]_** Ddraig answered vaguely.

They walked up the first set of steps, which were few in number, before reaching the courtyard of the shrine.

The barrier separating them from the humans was at the 90% mark of the path. Which made Issei wonder why Yasaka hadn't waited to pounce on him until then. At least they wouldn't have had to worry about being seen then.

'What have I been missing?' Issei thought to himself.

He had family, money, a home, food. He didn't see his friends that often, but he still had them.

**_[A partner.]_** Issei felt Ddraig retreat back, after saying that last piece.

He hadn't noticed the feeling getting stronger, as he tried to piece everything together, nor that Yasaka had stopped them and was staring at the sky.

Issei had a partner, he had Ddraig.

He had Anna as his partner in taking care of Mari, Kali probably could be considered in that category too.

He had sparkles for when he wanted to delve in his nerdier interests.

Even as the sun was shining down on them, thunder bellowed above, clouds gathering only directly above the shrine. They were of the purest white, yet flickered with lightning only found in the most powerful of storms.

He had Vali as his dragon wielding partner, strange as their relationship may be.

He had Kiba as his partner in unwilling royalty of Kuoh Academy.

He had Sona for his Chess partner.

Shadows covered the grounds, as the first drops of rain came. The first two were large, hitting Issei and Yasaka on the top of their heads.

He had Yasaka as his partner as a single parent, ever since Nora-

Lightning strobed through the few clouds above them, the thunder echoing off the shrine and forest surrounding it, just as the downpour started. Late as it was in the day, the sun was lowered to the point that it was still shining on them.

A sun shower.

It all came together in his mind, as Yasaka turned her gaze from the sky, towards him.

A _beautiful,_ radiant smile graced her face. In that moment, Issei saw her happier than he ever had.

His agreeing to move back to Kyoto a while from now, was nothing compared to this.

The feeling of that magic exploded, embracing him the way a lover would when their counterpart returned from war. The same way Yasaka would when they'd worn themselves out for the night.

A rainbow formed behind Yasaka, as he stared at her wide eyed. It was far enough away, that the water particles reflecting the light just outside of her form.

He felt something changing in him, something solidifying, next to where he felt Ddraig resided.

"I love you Ise." She said, stepping towards him, coming mere millimeters away from him.

Her free hand rose to rest on his cheek, as she looked into the wide brown eyes that seemed stunned by what was happening.

"My partner, my husband, my soulmate."

Yasaka closed the small distance between them, kissing Issei with every ounce of emotion she could muster.

Happiness, fear, hope, love. And he had never denied her a kiss since coming to live with her.

Even as he reciprocated, pulling her close so that his hand could rest on her waist, Issei couldn't help to think, 'I'm not ready for this.'

A sun shower was not something that only pertained to the supernatural. It happened quite frequently across the globe. But for one particular race, it was something special, something revered and dreamed of.

The Kitsune, the mystical fox of Japan. Some of these beings sought to trick others for entertainment or for their own gain.

Others however, were guardians, loyal friends, lovers, wives.

When in the presence of a kitsune, a sun shower was not just a natural occurrence. It was a Kitsune No Yomeiri, a foxes wedding, performed by the guardian over the entire race.

Inari.

If the relationship was blessed by the fox goddess, the ceremony was magically enhanced to bind the souls of the couple together. Humans had their religious marriage ceremonies, to proclaim to the gods, that they would always stick by each other.

A Kitsune No Yomeiri was the spiritual equivalent, only it was unable to be taken back. Once they were bonded, they were bonded for life.

The way that human society had progressed, so materialistic and two-faced, had driven Inari to stop doing them almost completely. It had been a very long time since one had been performed, as she waited for the right couple to appear.

But she knew Issei and Yasaka, could see the love they held for each other. Even if Nora had still been alive, she would have blessed these two souls.

Yasaka deserved it, Issei needed it.

When they pulled away, Issei looked into those golden irises, full of nothing but positive emotions.

Yes, he loved her. He had admitted that to himself even before he left Kyoto.

She was beautiful, fun to be around, smart, insightful.

But _marriage…_ If they were going to be married, he wanted to be around full-time. He didn't want to be living apart like they were right now.

He couldn't leave Kuoh either. He and Nora promised to go to high school. Even if she were gone, Issei needed to fulfill that promise.

That was the whole point right? To be by each others side through thick and think. For better or worse.

He wasn't ready, wasn't prepared for that yet. Issei needed time.

"Yasaka, I-" He didn't even know what to say.

What could he say? I'm glad you're happy, and want to marry me, but I don't want this? That I don't have time for you, or your daughter? At least, not in the capacity he felt they deserved.

It was too little too late for that. By her standards, she is his wife, and he is her husband.

"I know honey. I know." She said, putting her forehead to his, both hands on each cheek.

Wait a minute… A pet name, that wasn't in the midst of sex? She'd never done that before.

"Do you love me?" Yasaka whispered.

There were too many responses to that, too many things about her that he _did_ love.

_Yes,_ was the all encompassing answer. But-

"This isn't fair." Was what he said.

Because he was supposed to get on one knee, with a ring, and ask her to spend the rest of her life with him.

Because he had too much on his plate to give himself to her, the way she deserved.

Because he was sleeping with other women, and had a new one living with him, that likely couldn't go more than 48 hours without dragging him into bed.

Because being married to him, put her and Kunou in danger. Especially now, with his silent crusade against a terrorist group.

"But do you love me?" She repeated.

He could feel the power radiating from the opening of the shrine, telling him that Inari had decided to show herself finally. He had half a mind to punch her in the face for this.

"Of course I love you."

"And Kunou?" She quickly asked.

If his head wasn't swirling so much, he'd have pulled back and given her the most hurt look he was capable of. The little fox was a joy to be around, no matter how much she enjoyed climbing on him.

"Like family."

He felt her press a little harder on his cheeks, happy to hear his response, even though she must have known the answer already. She just wanted to hear it.

"I will never be able to replace what you've lost. I'll never be the true mother Mari deserves. But I will try my best, in both respects. I love Anna like a sister, and i'm glad Kali is back."

Her words were painfully sweet to Issei. Just like Nora, Yasaka had a way of getting what she wanted from him.

"I've known there would be others from that first night, you are part dragon after all. It will take work, and some getting used to, but we _can_ do this."

Even if Issei wanted to deny her, he had no idea how to accomplish that.

She knew his current situation, and why he couldn't come back to Kyoto yet. But still, she wanted to do this.

How could he refuse?

"Married to a beautiful blonde huh? How horrible." He joked, a smile on his face, earning a light slap to the cheek.

As Issei started to accept the situation, another thought popped into his head. Nora had only been a forward thinker in one aspect, when it regarded him or Mari. Otherwise she preferred to just live in the moment.

They had planned out what to do in case of almost anything. Battles, illness, death. And how to proceed if she was no longer with him.

Issei had half a mind not to go with the agreed upon arrangement. Because what woman would want to be reminded of her husbands other wife anytime she looked to her left hand? But Yasaka and Nora had been friends, and she'd always admired the ring he'd made.

When he forced himself out of her hold, Yasaka looked at him curiously, as he fiddled with his shirt.

He wasn't 100% ready to move on yet, and knew that he probably never would be. But, Issei knew it was time to start trying.

Feeling the leather string around his neck, Issei heated his fingers to the point the string snapped, and the rings fell into his palm.

He pulled out the objects, and watched as Yasaka realized what he was doing, her hands coming to cover her open mouthed gasp.

Her eyes quickly started to tear up, as Issei sank to one knee.

The circumstances weren't ideal, but it was the hand they were dealt. He would make the best of it. Yasaka deserved this experience to be as special as possible.

With the ring in his right hand, out in the open, Issei gazed up to the golden eyes of his new wife.

"I love you Yasaka. You're smart, funny, beautiful, and you're a great mother. I would like nothing more, than to know that we will spend the rest of our lives together. Will you marry me?"

The slender fingers covering her mouth trembled, as she looked down to him.

In all honesty, she thought this would be an uphill battle. Once they had gotten to talking this morning, about what was going on, she had wondered if Inaris plan would blowup in both their faces.

_Never_ would she have guessed, that Issei would present her with Noras ring. He'd hand forged it, with the best quality materials he'd been able to get his hands on.

The diamond was large enough to show that it wasn't cheap, but not overly so. And the way it sparkled in the diminishing sunlight was breathtaking.

Him offering her the ring he wore around his neck at all times was, unbelievable.

"Yes…." She whispered. Her hands were still trembling as she slowly brought her left hand towards him.

"Yes, yes, YES!" Her voice grew louder as the excitement took over.

His left hand grasped hers gently, as his right guided the ring towards her third finger.

Like a glove, the white gold ring slid effortlessly onto her finger, like it was meant to be there all along.

They both knew that part was luck, but it was nice all the same. It would have been altered with magic in the event it wasn't a good fit.

It didn't matter to her that technically, they were already married, the gesture was _very_ reassuring and told her that he wanted this.

Bringing her hand up to eye level, Yasaka watched as the fading sunlight sparkled off the gem.

Bringing Kunou into the world had been through obligation, nothing more than a duty to her people.

That didn't mean that she didn't love her daughter, quite the opposite, but it wasn't the same as having a partner to raise her with. The father had never been in the picture, nor known of her existence. She felt it was better that way, as he'd only been a sperm donor.

With every fiber of her being, she wanted to raise a child with Issei.

"And thus concludes our meeting. Nice seeing you Issei!" A voice called from off in the distance.

Both Issei and Yasaka ignored Inari, solely focused on each other. They heard her, but just didn't care.

Issei would remember her blatant disregard for his opinion in the matter, for a later discussion.

As Inari warped away, Issei opened his left hand, which held his old wedding band.

He eyed it, wondering if he should get a new one.

Yasaka made the decision for him, as she quickly swiped it out of his grasp, holding it to compare to hers.

They were both white gold, while hers was inlayed with smaller diamonds, his was a solid structure. Brushed metal, with a rounded edge, it wouldn't show any scratches easily.

She smiled at how they complimented each other, and held her right hand out to take his left.

Issei stayed down on his knee, and gave his limb to her. He might not have been ready for such a big leap in their relationship, but seeing Yasaka so happy was definitely worth it.

His left ring finger still had an indent in it, from wearing the ring previously, so it slid on like a form fitted glove.

He couldn't help the smile that came over him once it was on, it felt like he had gotten a piece of himself back.

Yasaka lunged at him once more, happy tears flinging from her eyes in the movement, bringing Issei down on his back with her on top of him.

Their lips crashed together almost violently as they tumbled to the ground. Yasaka wasted no time in getting her tongue into the mix.

Issei was given no time to think, and just responded.

As their tongues mingled, Yasaka started to grind her hips onto his, giving him small moans from the friction.

When she finally pulled away, the looks she gave him, told him clothes were about to removed.

"I know we have to get back to the kids soon, but i'm not letting you go until I cum at _least_ 4 times. We have a honeymoons worth of sex to have, and less than a day to do it. Better pull out all the tricks you have, _husband."_

Issei sure knew how to pick'em. His first wife had been a borderline nymphomaniac, it seemed his second was showing similar tendencies.

But as far as complaints went, being tired from having sex, was among the lowest on the list.

"Whatever my _wife_ wants."

As he smiled, Yasaka leaned back down for another kiss.

It was quick, just sticking to lip contact this time, before pulling back.

"And then…once the kids are asleep, you me and Anna are going to test the springs of my bed. I'm sorry baby, but you'll probably have to hand Mari off to Kali tomorrow."

Oh, she doubted his stamina did she? Well, when she's unable to walk tomorrow, she'll learn.

Never doubt someone with dragon blood, even if it was diluted.

**-LineBreak-**

After a much longer amount of time than anticipated, Kali and Asia had returned home.

Amusing it was, seeing how people reacted to seeing the amount of bags Kali was carrying with no effort.

Asia meanwhile, was bogged down by one bag in each hand.

The little blonde wouldn't make it on the battlefield, unless she was hold up in a tent as a field healer. She just didn't have it in her.

The walk home had _almost_ been interrupted by some more of the devils that had moved into the neighborhood overnight.

Thankfully, Rias had intervened and turned them away. She did notice, however, that two of the devils had discretely followed them. Probably just to see where it was that Issei lived.

A brown haired one with long twin tails, and another with rather short white hair.

Now, the problem was deciding where to put her things. There was a spare room available, now that Ray had left. But Kali really didn't want to be put in a position for Issei to _not_ see her naked and/or changing.

She wanted to be sleeping in his room, with or without his other slave. She didn't care as long as she got hers.

Truth be told, she was looking forward to meeting this other woman. Kali knew Issei, knew how protective he was. For him to trust this woman with his daughter, it said a lot about her.

Hopefully the Neko-slave warmed up to her as well.

Walking upstairs, Kali brought her bags into the room of her master, hoping to find enough space for her new wardrobe.

She hadn't purchased _that_ much. An outfit for each day of the week, plus a little lacy number she would try on after her got home.

She could've gotten more, but thought that the limited amount of clothing would help to keep her busy, needing to do laundry twice a week. Looking around the house last night and today, had made it clear that Anna had things well under control as far as house duties.

Kali bumped the almost closed door with her hip, and entered the bedroom. It was exactly how she remembered his tastes to be.

It was nice, a portion of his wealth was noted in the quality of materials, but all-in-all it was ordinary.

Her eyes swept the room from left to right.

A desk made of solid African blackwood. A nice updated laptop, with a lamp beside it. The other end of the desk had a framed picture of Mari, her face covered in what she assumed, was birthday cake.

Then there was the window, blackout curtains pulled open. She couldn't ever recall Issei having a hard time falling asleep, so Kali guessed that the cat girl had something to do with those.

Next was another piece of African blackwood, a rather large dresser this time. Two columns of four drawers, each had a width of nearly 3 feet. Next to that was a vanity, which was surprising. Not many women of supernatural origin even bothered with makeup, when magic could take care of most things.

She hadn't been worried about it in the first place, but that item helped to prove how Issei treated people. Slave or not.

The furniture she was most looking forward to getting acquainted with, was the bed. Unfortunately, it appeared to only be a queen size, which could make 3 people sleeping rather uncomfortable.

The sheets were a dark gray, and a respectable thread count. She hadn't really noticed how it felt, as the weight of it all had kept her mind busy last night, until she had curled up with Issei.

There was an empty laundry hamper next to the closet door.

Figuring that Issei likely have almost all his clothes in the dresser, Kali opened the closet. Given the dimensions of the house, it was a fairly big walk-in, easily 10 feet deep.

She had been right, as most of the items in here were women clothes, even as few as there were. Hell, she could put everything she'd bought in here, and half the closet would still be open. 2 dresses, a couple nice blouses and 3 pairs of shoes.

Anna had definitely adopted the mentality Issei had of less is more. Meanwhile, Issei had 2 suits, one black and one charcoal gray. A pair of white button up shirts, and a pair of nicely polished dress shoes.

Seeing so little in here made her curious, as to how much clothing the two actually owned.

Exiting the closet, and across the room, Kali opened the top left drawer of the dresser.

Socks and underwear, mostly boxers, but there was one pair of briefs. The one to the right showed the underwear drawer belonging to Anna, Kali was a little disappointed to see that none of them were more than mildly sexy.

Looking into the other two pairs of drawers, it was nice to see that they each had about 10 shirts, and 10 pants/shorts/skirts.

The bottom drawer on each side was empty, which worked in her favor. She would commandeer them for herself, unless she was told otherwise by Issei. Her preference in forgoing undergarments, led her to only buy 3 pairs, just in case there was an event where she needed to be presentable.

Underwear and socks in one, shirts and the one pair of pants and shorts in the other.

The rest was quickly hung in the closet, closet to Annas side, but it was visibly separated by open space. This whole domestic thing was new to her.

Back when she was with Issei and Nora, they had been on the move a lot. Traveling, partying, meeting with strange individuals, that was how she'd spent that time of her life. They had only briefly stayed in their island cabin, for a bit of a breather.

"Better get used to it." She whispered.

Because at the moment, she would have nothing else to do, other than play housewife. She'd had enough adrenaline and uncertainty in her life. Taking care of things at home had a nice sound to it.

The sun was setting, so she should probably think about dinner for herself and Asia.

There was plenty of food. But that didn't mean she knew how to cook any of it. It was a shame too, because the kitchen was so nice and clean.

**-LineBreak-**

Issei had never been stared at so strangely by everyone in the youkai capital. As far as he could tell, he wasn't growing additional limbs from strange places.

He preferred the way it was before, when they'd pay him no more attention then anyone else.

From what Yasaka had said earlier, pretty much no one knew about their relationship. This must come as a big shock then.

They were approaching the steps to the main door, when Yasaka stopped him.

"Ise, there's something I need to give you, before we go in."

Her hands came in front of her chest, forming a ball.

A bright light could be seen from the small gaps between her fingers, a golden orange flame condensing in her hands.

Unsure of what she was doing, Issei just watched and waited, as the warmth could be felt a few feet away.

It took only a handful of seconds, before her cupped hands showed him, what appeared to be a giant pearl.

It was about the size of a golfball, and looked like the purest pearl he'd ever seen. Underneath the torchlight from the wall, it almost looked like the inside was…moving?

"Inari may have already forged our bond, but this…" She gestured her eyes towards the gem in her hands.

"This is something only I can give."

Issei had learned much about the various species of the world, in his travels. But the thing in the hands of his wife, was unknown to him.

He felt like he _should_ know what it is. Had she just created that from foxfire?

Issei held his hands toward it, idly wondering if it would be hot to the touch. The way she was holding it, made him think it was delicate. It was obviously special, as Yasaka gently placed it in his hands.

She stepped back and smiled.

"This is _my_ Hoshi no Tama. A physical representation of my power and soul. This pearl is a part of everything I am; my power, my hopes, my dreams, my fears. I've already given you my heart, now you have my soul."

Issei stood speechless once again, unsure of what to do with the gem. Something as precious as this needed to be kept safe, but he felt it should never be apart from him. That would be an insult to her, for presenting it in the first place.

Thankfully, Yasaka understood. She stepped close to him, guiding his hands to close around the pearl, pushing it up to his chest.

It was warm, but not hot, at least not to him. Issei wasn't even sure if her fire _could_ hurt him, because of his talents with fire, and because of how they felt about each other.

He could feel it melting, as his hands were pressed against himself, becoming a part of him.

He could feel its warmth move directly to where that soul binding had earlier, at the shrine. It had been a long time, since he felt this way, so warm and content.

There were cheers among the few people gathered that had seen what happened, as Yasaka took his hand and opened the door to her home.

**-LineBreak-**

Finding the girls had been easy, just follow the heavy footsteps and sounds of high pitched squeals and cheers.

Walking through the halls towards the back of the building, there was a loud crash and shattering sound, as something had been broken three rooms ahead of the newlywed couple.

" *sigh* Gone for a few hours, and already destroying priceless art." Yasaka murmured.

Issei wasn't sure who had been the one to directly cause the damage, as it was in Kunous nature to play and tease, just like her mother. Unfortunately, Mari was no better.

The two girls both had a habit of disregarding anything and everything when they were playing.

His 18th century violin was never the same, after Mari knocked it from the wall two months ago.

"Let's see what they're getting up to." Issei said, hand pushing open the door.

The back end of a blonde tail had just disappeared from the edge of the door, as Issei saw his daughter. She was sprinting as fast as she could, right towards the door, wide eyed and unable to slow herself down from colliding with it.

"Gotcha!" Leaning forward, Issei was able to scoop her up with one arm before she broke anything else.

Mari squirmed and groaned from the interruption of her game with her friend, and turned to see who had ruined everything.

Seeing her father smiling at her, all anger was drained away, as she did her best to turn in his grip and hug him as tightly as her little 3 year old arms could.

"DADDY YOU'RE BACK!"

Only half turned, Mari was able to nuzzle herself into his collar.

After a few seconds she stopped, as Issei and Yasaka stepped into the room.

She pulled her head back, green eyes squinted and teary, pinching her nose closed with her fingers.

"You stink. Take a bath Daddy!"

From the far side of the room, Anna rose an eyebrow towards the duo, before her nostrils picked up on the same thing. The aroma was definitely potent.

"Well it's nice to see you too." Issei grumbled, setting Mari down.

She immediately ran to the right, where Kunou had stopped once she heard Mari calling out that Issei was here.

Looking around, Issei saw that Anna was sweeping the remnants of what had been a replica vase from the 1500's. That was good, because ceramics like that, were very hard to repair even with magic.

Mari stood almost directly in front of Kunou, waving her hand in front of the young foxes face. Her older friend had her eyes deadlocked on Issei.

"Kunou, lets play!" When she got no response, she tried a little harder.

Her little index finger poked Kunou in the cheek, and almost directly in her ear when Kunou turned her head to follow the movements of Issei.

"Hopefully this was the only thing broken?" Kunou heard Issei ask Anna, who nodded but said nothing.

Being the next leader of Kyoto, Kunou had started training her abilities when she was 6. It was slow, because the basics needed to be well understood before anything else. And it was easier for a child to hurt themselves while learning these things.

But there were some things that were just instinctual to youkai. The very beginnings of senjutsu, feeling someones life force, was one of them.

Just for a moment, Kunou thought that the smell had been interfering with what her senses were telling her.

But upon looking closer, Kunou could tell that her initial thought had been right.

Issei had always felt strange to her. He was a bird, a dragon, and human all rolled into one. The bird was gentle, the dragon was hot and scary, the human was curious.

But now, Kunou felt her own mother in him. Her lessons with grumpy old youkai had taught her what that meant.

"Mama?" So distracted was she, that the etiquette taught to her was lost.

That one word had turned Yasaka so quickly, that her hair nearly slapped her in the face.

Kunou stepped around Mari, who merely watched with a curious tilt of her head at the change in her friend, and towards Yasaka.

"Issei…And you… It feels-"

Yasaka nodded with smile. It wasn't how she wanted to tell her daughter, or Mari. But there was no time like the present.

"Yes dear, Ise and I are married now. Bonded for life."

The conversation Issei had been having was stopped, and silence reigned, as the couple tried to figure out how to best explain things. He stayed in his knelt position, from trying to help pick up the pieces of a broken vase.

Both Kunou and Mari, were smart, understanding things that were beyond the norm for their age. But like with all things, there was a drawback.

Due to Noras curiosity and Issei's meddling, Maris mind was developing 3 times quicker. But she still held the temperament and interests of a 3 year old.

Kunou had knowlege and training that most kids didn't receive, thanks to her being a future leader. But because of that, she liked to act like the kid she almost never was allowed to be.

Even though Kunou was 10, and Mari 3, these factors lead to them getting along so well.

Thoughts raced through the young foxes head.

She liked Issei very much, he was fun, nice, and gave great warm and comforting hugs. She was really upset when he left.

He had moved away, because of a reason she was never told about, taking Mari and Anna with him.

They were married now, and she was told that married couples lived together in the same house.

Anger flooded Kunou, as she turned and marched to Issei with a scowl on her face, and tails twitching angrily.

Yasaka was too surprised by the reaction, and didn't have the presence of mind to say or do anything to stop her.

Issei watched her approach, thinking he was about to get a lecture about coming back, or making sure that he made Yasaka happy.

What he did not expect, was to be slapped. Harder than he had thought his new step-daughter to be capable of.

"No!" Then a kick to his shin.

"I don't want this!" A left handed punch to his arm.

"Don't hurt Daddy!" Mari cried from the background, rushing forward only to be stopped by Anna.

"I won't let you!" Kunou used her other foot to stomp on his.

"I HATE YOU!" Kunou gave him a well placed, emotionally charged kick to the balls, before running out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Yasaka looked at the door, wondering where everything had gone wrong, as Issei was on all four limbs.

**END!**

**The rest of this scene will come some time after Christmas.**


	6. Interlude

How long had it been since this building was an actual church, providing guidance to the lords flock?

It was before she'd ever come to this country, of that she was sure. The pillars were starting chip, from the power of the trainees, and their off centered strikes. If nothing was done about that, the building would collapse sooner or later.

But Heaven had other problems to deal with, things that were more important than one building that had already been deemed expendable.

"It has been a long time, has it not Hannah?" A voice came from behind her.

Turning, the darkened halls were not enough to hide the small smile of her friend. Her hood and robes were as pristine as they'd ever been, her hair completely and neatly tucked beneath her hood.

"It certainly has, Griselda." She returned the smile.

It was funny, in a way, how each of them had a hand on the hilt of a sword. They held vastly different purposes, but the goal was the same. To help and guard those who could not protect themselves. The prevalence of high ranking female exorcists had sky rocketed with this generation.

She would always feel a slight ping of envy, at the blade that Griselda carried, Excalibur blessing. While her own brought nothing but poor memories. The blade she wielded was extremely picky about its wielder, and the church would not let her forsake it for one of the fragments.

She had begged and pleaded, but it mattered not. She had been inducted into the sect of dragon slayers, and that is where she would stay, at least partially. Not even the Lady Gabriel herself had been able to sway that decision.

"Your arrival was later than expected." Griselda moved to walk beside her, making her way to the main hall.

Hannah sighed, stopping for a moment to rub the bridge of her nose. She was tired, so tired and ready to move on.

"There were…set backs." If her expression was anything to go by, Griselda needed no further explanation.

"I trust all ended in the expected manner?" If this had happened years ago, she doubted Griselda would have given her anything but the necessary politeness.

But now, none could say that she hadn't paid her dues for her poor judgement and inexperience.

"Not quite, but that's a story for another time and place." Hannah answered.

She did not want to get into the specifics right now, not when they had other things to do. Plus, she wanted to see one of the two awaiting them.

The hall they walked was large, allowing 5 adults to walk side by side before reaching the pillars, with space for another 3 on either side of said pillar. That was nothing compared to the great hall, which opened into a massive atrium.

The architecture was inlaid with stone carvings of biblical references; whether it be saints, angels, or icons. Again, Hannah thought it such a waste to use this once beautiful building as a mere training facility. But the barriers in place allowed for secrecy, even through the use of their more mystical arts.

"You never met him! Who are you to pass judgement on someone?!" A young female voice echoed off of the walls.

Hannah could not see the owner yet, but that pitch was familiar, even if it had been years since they'd last met.

"Anyone called heavens leper is not fit to be in service to the lord. Only a heretic would think otherwise." The second voice was calmer, deeper, but no less angered.

Hannah could hear the clenching jaw of Griselda beside her. She wondered if this was somewhat of a common occurrence. For a moment, she thought about stopping out of sight, and letting the argument continue a bit more.

The words spoken by the second voice had her heart beating harshly against her chest. She stuttered in her steps for only a second, before keeping her pace forward. It would do no good to let the girls keep on as they were.

The final pillar gave way to the sight of two young women, both in their teens. To the left, with a calm golden gaze, was Xenovia Quarta. The circumstances of how the girl came to be under the care of Griselda was still a mystery to her. Her blue hair was chin length, a green fringe above her right eye.

Hannah smiled at the frustrated girl to the right. She remembered that look on her so well. Irina Shidou had grown to be a gorgeous young woman, like she knew would happen. Her long auburn hair was such a far cry from the tomboyish looks she'd had when she was little, and tied into twin tails with blue scrunchies.

"Heaven would be short a Seraph or two, if your judgement of my son were the official ruling."

The girls both stiffened, and turned towards her and Griselda, who appeared to be planning various training exercises for her ward. She hid a smile when Xenovia paled at seeing Griselda. Irina However…

"Aunty Hannah!" The girl went wide eyed with a bright smile, bounding over to give Hannah a tight hug. Hannah returned the embrace, allowing the girl this moment before they got back to business.

"It's good to see you again Irina. No wonder your father looked so tired, he must be beating boys away at all hours with how beautiful you've become." For that line of thought, she was grateful to have had a son. Boys these days had no sense of propriety, letting their actions be dictated by the head not on their shoulders.

Irina beamed a thousand watt smile up to her. "Its good to see you too, I missed you!"

"Come now child, back into the hall." Hannah ushered her after a few seconds.

Irina complied, letting Hannah go and walking back over to her partner, whose gaze had not left Griselda.

"Sister Griselda, how are you this e-evening?" Hmmm, she'd heard that the Durandal wielder feared no person nor creature. What sort of horrors had Griselda shown the girl?

"It is rude to ignore our new arrival Xenovia." Hannah almost snickered, watching as realization dawned on the young woman. Xenovia and Irina had not been made aware of her impending arrival, and had been caught in an argument where she had been bad mouthing her son.

Xenovia turned to face Hannah, offering a bow, speaking lowly.

"It is an honor to meet the first wielder of Ascalon in over a century, Sister Hannah." She had to at least applaud the girl, for not immediately retracting her statements, and sticking to her beliefs. Skewed as they may be.

"Aunty Hannah, what happened to your eye?" Irina asked.

There were many ways in which Hannah Hyoudou had changed since last in England. Her eyes had creases at the sides, her long brown hair had a streak of silver on her right side, and the covered scar that ran along her left forearm.

However, the patch over her left eye was the greatest physical change. It had taken a while to get used to judging depth after losing sight in it.

"Acquired in the field." It was not a lie, but not the whole truth either. The events leading to her husbands excommunication had gotten…violent.

Both girls seemed to understand that it was not a subject that Hannah wished to share the details of.

"Now to the reason of my being here, your training."

The smile came off of her face, taking on the appearance of a skilled and battle tested warrior. She had not ever truly wanted to use the skills that had been forced upon her. But…Vasco and Lady Gabriel had been very persuasive, in getting her to stay with the church, and taking her current position.

"I want the two of you, to come at me full force. We shall judge your teamwork first, and then move on to individual assessments." Hannah slowly pulled her blade out.

She had come to dislike its appearance. The hilt was of a deep purple, with a golden cross at the very bottom, leading to the dragons claw that overlapped the sheath.

The blade itself was a fearsome one, the lower half being serrated on both sides, and the razor sharp edges above it.

"If you manage to touch me, you pass. Otherwise we shall continue until I say so."

-LineBreak-

"How did they get you to stay?" Griselda asked, as they settled in their now shared quarters.

As with a lot of the church, it was of a spartan design, keeping only to the basics. Of course, there were signs that this was a place for the faithful; the cross on the wall, the Sermon on the mount painting, and one of Saint George slaying the dragon oddly enough.

"I will be given the chance to atone for my sins, while remaining as a reserve for emergencies." Hannah replied, looking at the picture of her predecessor.

She wondered if the dragon was truly that small, as the painting had it standing at a max of 4 feet on all fours. If that was the case, then his achievement was greatly over valued in her opinion.

If the creature was that small, it had only been a young one, and nowhere near the threat of the towering beasts a full grown dragon could be. She had slain three herself, all of which had stood easily at 9 feet tall. Hardened scales sliced through like warm butter.

She knew they had been a shadow of their former selves, rabid and only acting on instinct. The look in those eyes held no more intelligence, only rage and a desire for blood. Whoever had caged them, needed to be caught.

"I'm still not sure I should accept the offer from Lady Gabriel." She turned towards Griselda, tired of looking at the painting.

Seeing her friend without her hood on was unusual, and had forgotten how truly stunning her features were. She was raised in Italy, but born in Sweden. Long braided blonde hair falling down her back.

"Heaven would greatly benefit from having you, Hannah." Griselda responded, undoing her braid to prepare for bed.

"Lady Gabriel has said so herself. You could help so many from going down the wrong path. The skills you could teach would help protect many innocents. It may still be a long while before the process is deemed finished, so there is still time." Griselda peered at the tips of her hair, frowning for a moment at the dead ends she found.

When Griselda sat on her bed, she gave her friend a cautious look.

"Hannah, i'm sorry if this is not something you wish for me to bring up. But… I feel I must."

Hannah sighed, taking off her eye patch. Beneath the black fabric, the scarred eyelid shuttered from the change in light.

"The rumors…?"

Griselda nodded.

"Ever since he disappeared, your son has remained elusive, especially these last few years, and information on him has never been very solid. It was not my place to ask Lord Michael or Lady Gabriel if what is being whispered amongst the faction leaders is true."

Hannah moved to place Ascalon against her nightstand.

"Will you be able to handle it, if it is true?"

Taking out the red ribbon from her own long hair, Hannah remembered hearing exactly what Griselda was talking about.

Lord Michael had admitted that when he saw Issei a few years ago, brief as the time was, he had been traveling with a devil woman about his age. By his account, they appeared rather…affectionate.

The whispers through the three factions these last few days, mainly things overheard by the leaders, said Issei had not only married this devil…but there was a child now too.

If Koda finds out, he would explode in rage, knowing that his disowned son had slept with the very beings their religion sought to destroy. He would see no issue with killing the woman, the child, or their son.

"As much as I wish to be able to turn the clock back, I can't. Issei is an adult, capable of making his own decisions. He has been, since his own father marked him for death. Devil or not, my daughter in law and grandchild, if they exist, are my family. I will treat them as such, should we ever meet."

Griselda said nothing else, and Hannah laid in her bed, thinking of what Michael had said about this…Nora woman.

If there was ever an example of how we could all live in peace, Issei and Nora Hyoudou are that example. If she were not born a devil, she would have made a wonderful exorcist.

"I pray that you are given the chance Hannah." Griselda said, pulling herself away from her thoughts. She didn't understand how a pure-blood devil could have the appropriate temperament to be a member of the church. They were creatures of desire, that did not typically align well with being a member of the church.

"A grandmother…" Hannah whispered to herself, testing the word on her tongue. She knew that she'd failed as a mother, by allowing her husband to cast away her son. If the fates were kind, she could make it up to Issei, by being there for him and his child now.

Only time would tell, but she had a fear that Issei would not like seeing her again. He also might take issue with heaven being the one to tell her, where he was living currently.

There was a thought she'd had occasionally, since finding out her son was back in Japan.

Why was Gabriel so determined to appease her son? There was a story there, that she would very much like to hear.

Once Irina and Xenovia completed the next steps of training, perhaps she could finally make her way to the last of her family.

END!

Just a little peace offering for while i'm on vacation, and until I can sort through the stuff I have for the next main chapter.

Some of you mentioned that his parents should show up at some point, oddly enough, I already have a plan for that.

I've also been dropping hints about something else throughout the story, that I think only 1 person has mentioned in reviews.

Issei's age.


	7. Chapter 6

"Kunou, it's Issei." He said, after an unsuccessful attempt at knocking to gain entry. Issei could tell that she was crying, the thick door wasn't able to hide it from his hearing.

After she ran off, Issei volunteered to check on the little fox, since Yasaka wasn't taking it too well at the moment. The reaction of his…wife, was understandable. Kunou had never acted like this with him before, and now that the relationship was as solidified as it could be, she was rejecting him.

"I've made you mad, and for that I can only say i'm sorry. You can hit me or yell at me all you want, I won't stop you. But please Kunou, tell me why?"

He heard her quiet cries stop, followed by some shuffling.

Issei waited for another minute, wondering if she was still going to ignore him, when the latch of the door clicked.

With a smile, Issei knelt down in front of her doorway. He would let her vent all the frustration she wanted. The door creaked open two inches, and he could see her bloodshot golden eye staring at him.

The eye narrowed, as Issei felt a trickle of heat come through the opening.

Without any other warning signs, Kunou throw the door open and set upon him with all the fury she could muster.

She punched, slapped, and kicked at him with fire coating her limbs. Thankfully almost all fire was next to useless against him, it just gave him a sense of warmth from the blows.

Kunou saw that her attacks were doing nothing, and lunged at him with bared teeth.

Long sharp canines plunged into his shoulder with an angry growl slipping through. Issei only gave a small wince at his skin being punctured, wrapping his arms around her gently, as Kunou bit down as hard as she could.

Issei rubbed circles into her back, and felt her tensing up. What he thought would be another sort of attack, ended up being Kunou failing to hold her tears back.

The foxes tears were warm, even through his shirt. Issei didn't say anything, just letting her vent. Her teeth were dislodged from his flesh, and Kunou buried her face into his shoulder, loud pained wails being muffled by cotton.

"Don't take her away…" Issei heard her mumble after a few minutes, and her sobs turned into the occasional sniffle.

"I don't want Mama to leave."

His hand paused from its movement on her back, as what she said registered in his mind. Issei had no idea where she got that idea from.

"Why do you think i'm taking her away?" He leaned his head down so his cheek was against her hair, his arms pulling her into a close yet gentle embrace.

"You got married, and married people live together." Oh how he wished the world was as simple as children saw it. If that were the case, all bad guys would get punished, and the good guys would be rewarded. But, unfortunately…

"One day, we will live together. I hope it's okay with you, for Mari and I to live here again."

With another sniffle, Kunou pulled her head back and wiped her nose and eyes with her sleeve.

"Here?" She asked him, as her sleeve dropped back down to hold onto his shirt.

"Of course. It will be a while before that though. I have some things to do there-" Issei stopped when Kunou tugged on his shirt, jerking him a little bit.

"Promise." The heat in her demanding tone was a far cry from the emotions of just a few moments ago.

"Promise you what?"

"That you're not taking her away. And then You Mari and Anna will live here."

Issei smiled at her, unless fate decided to turn his life on its head, that was an easy thing to agree to.

"I promise. Kunou, we're family now, you and I. I'll never do anything to hurt you on purpose."

She gave him a small toothy smile for a moment, before her head tilted.

"Do I have to call you father now?"

He chuckled. Part of him would feel a little weird hearing that, but another part would love it. If she called him that in from of Yasaka, it would no doubt have a great effect.

"Only if you want to." Issei watched as she thought on it, the contortions of her expressions was amusing to watch.

"You know Kunou, since your mother and I are married, that makes Mari your sister." Based on the happy smile and wide golden eyed stare she gave him, the thought was a pleasant one.

When her smile started to wilt, she melted back into him, leaving Issei confused about what had her upset now.

"Mari is mad at me, she won't want to be my sister." Now that was just ridiculous, and he told her as much.

"Don't be silly, Mari loves you. Getting angry is normal, just go and apologize and everything will be okay."

As he stood, bringing Kunou with him, he noticed the guards standing around for the first time. There were 3 of them, and each looked relieved that their princess had been sufficiently soothed. Issei knew that Kunou could be hard to reign in sometimes.

As much as she was a refined lady in the making, she was also a child with an abundance of energy and very little opportunity to release that energy. He suspected that to be the reason she enjoyed seeing Mari, because they both just wanted to run around and play.

"Let's go back to the others, and smooth things over."

He placed her on the ground when she nodded against him.

"Okay…Daddy." His steps faltered at hearing that. When he looked over to her, she had a smirk on her face that was all too familiar.

'Great… the mischievous side is starting to make an appearance…' He thought, and had expected it to remain a private thought.

[Sometimes I wonder how you don't feel sick hearing that word, especially after the night in Mexico City…] Issei felt bile threaten to climb up his throat at the reminder Ddraig had given him. His partner was not one for speaking much, even more seldom was when it wasn't because of something important.

'Context is important. Mari and Kunou are children…. Not adult women who just happen to be short and have young appearances. I thought we all agreed never to speak of that night with the zashiki again?' If he didn't make that distinction in his head, he wasn't sure he wanted to know how that would have affected him.

[You better establish yourself as a proper parental figure with the little fox then. Otherwise we both know what will happen in a few years.]

His stomach churned even more at the thought. Ddraig was right, he needed to plan to be around Kunou as a father figure regularly, before things went wrong. That would not be a conversation he wanted to have with Yasaka. If Inari caught wind of something like that, he would never hear the end of it. That woman was trouble, how Amaterasu put up with her, he had no clue.

-LineBreak-

The time to return to Kuoh was quickly upon them, something that Yasaka wanted to ensure wouldn't be permanent. They had been talking in a private room, as the subject matter couldn't be left to anyone who might want to spread it to the wrong people.

It was regarding Mari, and the conversation with the current Lucifer and Leviathan. Issei didn't like the thought of putting his daughter through the stress of being a pillar head, but he would leave that decision to her once she was old enough to make it.

Along with that, came the details of the terrorist group that had been sniffing around the wrong places more frequently than ever.

"I know your cautious and capable Yasaka," Issei started, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "But word will get out about me taking out Kali's group. If they dig enough…"

She smiled at his concern, internally thanking Inari for the actions she'd taken to help their relationship along. If she had pressed hard enough, she knew that Issei would have given into her charms eventually, but having him now was much better.

"I will be careful Ise, you have my word. Let's not talk about that for now, just keep me updated on anything you think is important."

When he nodded, she turned to a different subject that had been in the back of her mind.

"Now… Since I am your wife," She took great pleasure in using the term, an undefinable warmth swam through her every time she said it. "At least by youkai standards. That makes me the lead woman in your life by position, excluding Mari for obvious reasons." If he ever put herself before his daughter, she would have… words, with him. Violent, fiery words that would leave him charred, fire resistant disposition be damned.

"I know how complicated things are going to become, with Mari becoming known. You're going to be asked to do certain things, at some point."

"Yasaka, if you want a wedding ceremony, you don't have to try and convince me. Lets just try to have it during one of the school breaks." Seeing her in a wedding dress would be something he would love to see. It would also have the benefit of clearing up any outstanding rumors about their relationship with her people.

"Your sweet Ise, and we'll have to talk more about that." She was trying hard to keep the giddiness of a big wedding at bay, barely managing to succeed. She needed to speak her mind right now.

"But what i'm talking about, is your other relationships." He may not want to hear it, or believe it, but it was happening. She could connect the dots as he spoke about a certain devil king, just as one example. She wanted to make sure things didn't get spread too thin.

"I know it's not ideal." He started, a bit of remorse in his voice. "But I couldn't have managed as I have without Anna, and after I saw what had happened with Kali, I can't just send her away."

As much as she liked both women, they were of no concern to her in this aspect. She hoped that he would give her the chance to explain, before getting angry.

"That's not who I'm talking about. Kali and Anna are slaves, or servants for those who have thankfully outlawed the concept. To almost all the supernatural, they are akin to property that you own… and what you do with them doesn't matter."

She saw his nostrils flare, as he took a calming breath. He could see that she was speaking as a leader, as someone who had to deal with others of high station. Yasaka had to continue before he could think that she thought of the two women like that herself.

"They are more than that, but to get justice for Nora, protect Mari and stop this group, you're entering the world of the upper class. Position, posturing, and alliances are going to be important."

The hand that was holding hers loosened, and slipped from her grip. He didn't look angry, thankfully, but more contemplative as he realized where she was going with this.

"Marriage is how the devils do things, because they're obsessed with keeping their bloodlines pure, and gaining more power and influence. An alliance, or truce or whatever someone calls it, should be mutually beneficial. Marriage is for love, not politics." The sarcastic tone for that one word showed how much he thought of the practice.

"And we agree on that completely, but it's how many factions handle things like this." She took a breath and continued.

"My point is, Issei," She got back to the topic originally intended, after the small derailment. "That besides myself, Anna and Kali, there's a high chance of more women coming into your life. I'm okay with that…to an extent."

A fake scowl came to his face. This was a talk he'd had multiple times with Nora, and had never been particularly receptive to it. He just felt so…sleezy, even considering it.

"You too Yasaka? *Sigh* I thought this harem topic had been left behind."

"Fufufu, you make it sound like such a horrible thing, having a score of beautiful women ready and willing to give themselves to you."

Issei paled, taking her wording seriously.

"20? I'm pretty sure i'd die of dehydration, plus they'd all feel so neglected i'd be no better than those devils that build all female peerages."

She had to blink and catch up, having forgotten that, 'a score' was another term for 20, when she only meant to say that he had multiple women.

"Anyway, let's just assume i'm on board with this harem thing, and continue."

She took the pass and went back to saying her piece.

"All i'm saying Ise, is that things are going to change. The devils are going to be a major part of the talks you'll be having, in order to get what you want. And just as you said, a good number of their alliances are through marriage. You're going to be propositioned, possibly even by some of the devil families."

Issei couldn't help the disbelieving scoff. The day that a high class devil wanted to be in a relationship with him, was the day he brought Mari to the school for open house. Simply put, it wasn't going to happen.

Not because Mari would be all too disruptive, but because he had gotten passed all the age related and personal life questions. The other students just assumed that he was the same age as them and had moved on.

The headaches he would get if she showed up, would never end.

"I just want to remind you, of what waits for you in Kyoto."

She slid from her seat, onto the floor and covered the small distance between them, kneeling directly in front of Issei with her hands coasting up his thighs.

"If you ever need a break, an escape, I will always be here. Ready and waiting to welcome you with open arms."

Her fingers had taken hold of the button on his pants, undoing it and sliding the zipper down, all the while maintaining the same sultry look from the day before. This woman was insatiable.

"Or an open mouth and legs, if thats not enough." She said with a throaty chuckle.

The cool air hit the flesh of his shaft, just as her head lowered, just to serve as a long lasting reminder of what he was leaving here by going back to Kuoh.

It was effective.

-LineBreak-

Seated atop her fathers shoulders, Mari was having a hard time sitting still. How could she? She was about to meet new people! Mari loved meeting new people…As long as there weren't too many, she wasn't a fan of that.

There was a day she could remember, when they had gone to a toy store together, and she'd gotten surrounded by a lot of people. She had cried and screamed for him. Her daddy had come running, scooping her up before he even knew what was happening. He had only been a few feet away at the time.

Just to her left, Anna stood holding onto his hand through the transport circle. She was a little sad to be leaving Kunou, but Mari was sure that they'd see each other again soon.

The red light of her fathers magic faded, revealing the home she loved. The excitement was rising, this close to meeting her new aunty.

"You ready Mari?" Her daddy asked from below, tilting his head back some, but not enough to cause her to shift.

"Yeah!" She threw a small fist up into the air, getting him to laugh at her exuberance.

What Mari was more curious about, was the other girl she was told was inside. It didn't sound like her father knew the girl that well. Was she staying forever like Auntie Anna and Auntie…Kali?

She hoped so, having more people to play with was always a good thing. Aunty Anna was fun, but sometimes didn't want to play, or was busy with something else.

Anna opened the door, stepping through and off to the side to let them in. Her father ducked his head, so her head didn't hit the door frame. He was silly that way, since there was still a bunch of room left above her.

Once inside, Mari scrunched her nose, as a smell permeated the cozy home. It was like everything in the house had been briefly set on fire, and then put out, before it could be damaged.

"I really should have expected something like this." Issei said with a sigh.

Mari could see the way Anna's tails had gone completely straight, the fur puffing out on each one. This was followed by the quiet growl emanating from her lungs.

"I'll take care of it Anna, don't worry." Anna took a long and deep breath to calm herself. That kitchen was hers! What was that fallen doing to it? Technically it was Ise's, but other than the few times he cooked, that was her domain. A curt nod was her only response, glaring towards the source of the aroma.

Mari felt the hands on her waist, and the slight upward pull. She knew that her father had things to do, before he went back to school tomorrow. That by no means, meant she had to like it.

With ease, she was lifted from her perch. Mari started to pout, thinking her time in direct contact with him was over for now. To her surprise, she turned towards him, and pulled into a hug, before being lowered to the ground.

Her displeasure was forgotten, as she remembered that there was someone new that might play with her, somewhere in the house. If the smell was anything to go by, they were in the kitchen.

As soon as she had proper footing, Mari took off to the right, off to the source of Anna's irritation.

Issei tried to halt her, but with a stumble, his daughter managed to speed off unimpeded. Well, no time like the present he supposed. Kali was going to meet her anyway, why not let the woman experience the usual amount of energy the little girl had. At least then she wouldn't be surprised by it later.

"AH! What the fuck!?" Oh, right… Kali didn't know when to expect them back.

The sigh escaped him before he could stop it. "What did Mari do?"

Issei didn't know what condition the kitchen was in, so he really should go in and make sure there wasn't anything Mari could get hurt by.

Whatever Issei thought he might find, was not what greeted him, upon crossing the threshold to the kitchen.

A large portion of the kitchen floor, looked like Kali had tried making that starch putty kids make in elementary school. Flour was everywhere, and whatever she tried using to clean it up, only turned it into clumps that were much harder to clean up.

Then there was, what appeared to be caked on soot, all over the stove top. Even dripping down to cover the door for the oven. This was going to take some serious work, to have it clean enough, where Anna wouldn't freak the hell out. She hated the kitchen being dirty.

Mari didn't even seem to notice the mess. Instead, she had latched herself onto the back of the new resident fallen angel, leaving Kali with wide eyes and an expression that clearly said she didn't know what to do or say right now.

"Hiya i'm Mari! You're my new Auntie right? What's your name? Why is your hair so long? Will you play with me? What's your favorite color? Mine's green! Do you like flowers? Do you like kitties? Auntie Anna is a kitty. Sometimes she lets me touch her tails!"

Still on her hands and knees, trying to clean the mess she made, Kalawarner was having a hard time even comprehending everything the little clone of Nora was saying. Her deep blue eyes caught sight of Issei standing at the entrance, clearly amused by what he was seeing. The girl attached to her back kept squirming, clearly excited to see the fallen.

"Do you watch Animaniacs? Daddy got me a bunch to watch! Mindy is the bestest, and her puppy, buttons is his name, has to watch her all the time because Mindy's Mommy goes to work a lot."

Issei waited a few seconds, taking in the pleading expression from Kalawarner, before doing anything. This was something he would remember with absolute clarity for many years to come.

"Mari, slow it down kiddo."

The immense relief and gratitude in her eyes made him chuckle. Issei thought Kali would be a little standoffish with Mari at first. That was proven wrong by the change of her expression. When Issei first met her, the fallen's face was set in a sharp scowl almost perpetually. It had eased after a few weeks.

Issei saw that same look, when he found her in the church. He was glad that it took her almost no time at all, to start feeling a bit more at ease. This scene did have one negative aspect to it though.

He was now utterly terrified to have Mari start school in two years. Being friendly was good, to an extent. But having a bit of stranger danger, wouldn't be bad either. At least that way, he wouldn't have to wonder if she'd start talking to the wrong person. No, he couldn't think like that. He, Anna, and Kali would be sure to always be there for her.

Letting go of the shoulders she was holding on to, Mari slid down to the floor, skipping over to her father. Brown hair bouncing, emerald eyes gleaming, and a wide smile across her lips, Mari didn't seem to have noticed how uneasy she'd made the new resident.

With a hand on each of his daughter's shoulders, Issei turned her to face Kali, who was standing up now, and attempting to brush herself clean. It wasn't working, but the effort was made.

"Mari, this is Kali, she's going to be staying with us from now on." He picked his eyes up from his daughter, and back to Kalawarner.

"Kali, this is my daughter Mari."

The introduction was more for Mari, because Kalawarner had already seen pictures of the girl. Even so, they were an important thing that Mari had to learn. First impressions set the bar for how someone viewed you. He didn't want Mari developing bad habits.

Well, more bad habits. Rolling in the mud of their garden, plus jumping onto a person you just met, were not habits he considered good.

Mari seemed to lose interest in Kalawarner at that moment, as she turned towards the living room, looking in that direction curiously. It had only been a passing thought, but Issei really should have considered what might happen just a bit more.

He knew exactly why she was looking that way. While the effect should be much greater on him, Mari had never been in the presence of a dragon tamer before.

The damage was already done. He had willingly and knowingly allowed a dragon tamer to stay in his home, and now his daughter was being drawn towards wherever the blonde nun was at the moment. If he was feeling it right, she seemed to be upstairs.

In all honesty, he didn't think Mari would be able to feel that magnetism unless Asia was right in front of her. She was half devil, the other parts should have been diluted enough to negate this.

Clearly he was wrong.

"I'll come help you in a few minutes Kali." Issei spoke, turning to follow behind Mari. He saw her nod before she was out of his view.

Coming in to the living room, Issei saw that Anna was pouting on the couch. She sat with one leg crossed over the other, bouncing it impatiently, along with her arms crossed across her chest.

Her leg stopped once she noticed the look on Mari's face. With a raised brow, she was silently asking him, what was up with her. Issei just gave a jerk of his head, asking her to follow along with him.

It was still going to be a few days before any decision regarding Asia came about. The likelihood of him feeling comfortable letting her get swept up by the three factions was already low. A few more days will probably going to make him feel like he was abandoning someone he cared for deeply.

That was just how dragon tamers worked. They couldn't control what it did to the species, how it made them feel. The only thing they could do, was affect if that was magnified through the nearly dead magic the tamers once had.

It was similar to the way he affected angels. As much as he wished to be able to turn it off, he had no idea if that was even possible.

As quiet as her race was known for, Anna stood from the couch, and made to follow the two of them.

What was happening right now, brought a thought that piggybacked off what he and Yasaka had talked about, the inevitability of more women coming into his life.

Asia didn't fit into it, the way that Yasaka meant, but if things went the way he thought they would, she would still be a part of his life.

If Mari wasn't in the picture, there was a chance that Issei would help the nun go start anew somewhere. But…If his daughter got attached to her, he wasn't sure he'd be able to do that. He had a hard enough time denying her things as it was.

That one stair that he kept forgetting to have a look at, creaked as he stepped on it, the draw from the nun getting stronger as they made their way upstairs. He could tell now, that she was in the guest room.

Mari could tell too, because her gaze was locked right towards where Asia had to be at the moment.

The final step was cleared, and Mari took as big of steps as she could, with her small strides.

The door was slightly open, and he could hear the girl humming something inside. When Mari came to the door, she didn't waste any time in pushing it open enough for her to slip through.

But unlike what she did with Kali down in the kitchen, Mari seemed to hesitate. Issei knocked lightly on the door, just to let Asia know that he was there. It still had the effect of startling her.

She seemed to have just been putting clothes away, when they came up. Her blonde hair swung as she turned to face them, her bright green eyes locking onto his.

"Oh, Mister Issei, you came back." Her voice seemed to be the trigger that released Mari from whatever was effecting her. That soft and gentle tone was leagues better then the scared vibrato of the other night.

When Mari took a step forward, Asia jumped, not noticing that the girl was even there, thanks to how still she'd been.

"I'm glad you seem to be doing better Asia. The little one there is my daughter Mari, and this is Anna." He said, gesturing to each. While Anna gave a nod towards the nun, Mari kept her slow walk up to the nun.

With nervous, yet pleasant smile, Asia greeted them both.

"It's nice to meet you both, I hope I won't be a burden to any of you during my stay."

When Mari stood within reach of Asia, she stared at her curiously, trying to understand why she was feeling so weird. Mari noticed, that the closer she got to the room, the more she wanted to be in here.

Asia knelt down, and her smile was less strained this time.

"Hello Mari, I hope you and I can be friends. If you want, I could play with you sometime."

Normally, Mari would have been jumping for joy with that statement. Instead, her small hands came up, and started to poke at Asia. First was her shoulder, her forearm, and then at her cheek.

Asia looked confused, but withstood it. The little girl stopped poking, and just placed her hands on Asia's sides.

Everyone present went wide eyed, when Mari stepped closer, and hugged the nun. Issei knew that the decision was made, when his daughter gave a hum that could only be interpreted as content. Thankfully the cross that Asia was wearing, was too high around her neck to touch Mari.

Well, at least they were going to get along just fine. He would remind Asia not to pray around Mari, just to be safe.

-LineBreak-

It was time for school to resume, unfortunately, and Issei kept massaging at the back of his neck as he sat in the usual desk.

He was accustomed to having another person in his bed. Whether it be Anna, Nora, or Yasaka, it was a feeling that he enjoyed. Having two women sleeping beside him, each of very different body types, created an issue he'd never thought of.

Anna wasn't particularly clingy, but she liked to have at least a little bit of physical contact with him. Kali on the other hand, was a top tier cuddler. Was that a word? Cuddler? He really didn't know how else to classify her sleeping habit, without it sounding childish.

While Anna had curled herself towards him, holding his hand towards her chest, Kalawarner had grabbed onto him from just underneath his arms, and snuggled his head to her chest.

The position had been comfortable up to the point he fell asleep. When he awoke though, his neck was aching badly.

A few of his classmates could be seen wandering the halls, not wanting to be in their classroom just yet, since there was a good 30 minutes before things officially began. He was sure that the noise level was on the edge of being obnoxious.

Why people felt the need to raise their voice, just because of other conversation happening around them, he would never understand.

Issei hadn't gotten around to contacting anyone last night. The scene with Asia and Mari had killed his train of thought. He would have to contact Azazel today, just to see how the Governor wanted to handle the situation with Kalawarner. That, and the fact that someone had let one of his sacred gear extractors be stolen.

At least that abomination wouldn't be a problem anymore, as it was among the ashes in the church.

Leaving the music app on his phone, Issei considered sending out a few quick messages. The first, he decided he could do later, which was to let Leighton know that Kali was with him now. The other one, after a few moments of thought, was deemed as a bad idea all together.

His rival had a bad habit of not covering his tracks very well. No matter the era, a storm brews where a heavenly dragon resides, and people knew about it.

Enough people knew about Vali by now, or at least his title as the white dragon emperor, that if they met up in Kuoh, trouble would follow. And there was enough trouble brewing already. It was better to leave that one alone for a few more months, at the very least.

Movement directly in front of the desk, caught his eye. Issei looked up, and was confused to see that Aika Kiryuu had planted herself in the chair, sitting in it backwards.

He knew enough about the girl, from hearing things in passing, that her position was a planned one. With her legs spread as they were, to accommodate the chair, she was effectively giving him a free panty shot. If she thought that he would be caught in a trap so transparent, then his reputation was vastly different then what he'd intended.

Her auburn braided pig tails hung slightly off her shoulder as she leaned forward, those hazel eyes giving him a curious yet triumphant look. Behind those large pink framed glasses, was a girl that knew she had some juicy info. The question was, how good was it, and how could she use it to her advantage?

Her mouth moved, but the blaring repetition of MURMAIDER in his ear, left him attempting to read her lips. That was something Issei had never been too good with.

With a deep breath that was well concealed, Issei paused his music, took out his headphones, and readied himself for what would undoubtedly a conversation on some sort of gossip related topic.

If he were the betting type, his money would be on something to do with Akeno, and them being seen together. The students just loved to gossip about the "Great Ladies of Kuoh". Rias, Akeno, Sona and Tsubaki, no matter which hallway you went down, it was almost guaranteed to hear something about them daily. Mostly unfounded rumors, though that may have been by design.

"Good morning Kiryuu, what can I do for you?" He began, making sure that his eyes stayed directly on hers. A hot blooded male, he may be, but Issei was not as easily tempted or swayed as most of the guys here.

Aika smirked at him, an expression she used when teasing the Duo of far too open young men, that sat in front of him.

"Morning Hyoudou, I was just asking how your weekend was? Anything noteworthy to speak of?"

Perhaps he was wrong, and there was some rumor including him that he had yet to hear. He did give his response some thought though, on how best to answer her.

"It had its ups and downs. I met up a friend I haven't seen in a while, other than that, I spent it mostly with family." Nowhere in that statement, was their a lie that could be picked apart.

"How was yours?" He would much prefer to be spending his time listening to music, and deciding how best to proceed with the things that were planned, but it was only polite to respond in the same way she had.

"Mine was great~!" Her emphasis on the word, put together with her smirk, had Issei anxiously waiting for the punchline. He wanted to know what information people were likely going to try and pry out of him for the next few weeks, until the rumor faded like the rest.

"I had my annual family reunion. This time though, my cousin and I spotted something interesting, while we were out visiting shrines."

There was a brief few seconds, where Issei just took that at face value, instead of trying to understand what she was hinting at.

'Hmmm, that sounds nice actually. We should take the girls around to some shrines next time i'm…in….'

Fuck.

The events of his life, left him non-religious, but this would be one of the rare exceptions to even think these words.

'Please, for the love of god, don't let her mean, what I think she does.'

But of course, his pseudo prayer was useless. Michael did not have the time, or reasoning to help him out in this situation. The one standing in for god, was more likely to be amused at receiving a prayer from him than anything else.

It took an immense amount of self-control, to keep his expression from reflecting how nervous and shocked he was at hearing Aika.

"My cousin and I were lagging behind the rest. He's something of a shutterbug, takes pictures of pretty much anything. At first I thought he was testing out his new lens." She spoke in a flippant manner, like she wasn't exposing something that Issei would have gone to great lengths to hide.

He wasn't ashamed of his relationship, there was no reason for him to be. But in the wrong hands, this information could be very bad. In fact, he'd just had a talk with Yasaka about that very topic, before he returned home.

"It wasn't until he said something about some absolutely gorgeous woman, that I wanted to see what he was up to."

Based on the way her smirk got more vicious, Aika had seen his fingers twitch ever so slightly. He was trying to keep himself from gripping the desk.

"Kyoto is an interesting city isn't it? Some of those shrines maidens are some serious eye candy."

Dammit.

There was very little chance that Aika had been able to put those things together, and attribute them to him, if she hadn't seen him with Yasaka.

"If someone would have asked me just at the end of last week, if you might be interested in anyone, I would have said either Akeno or the Kiyome Abe. Who would have guessed you had a milf kink though."

She let loose a rather perverse giggle, her eyes losing focus for just a moment, likely wondering about the kinds of things that may or may not have happened.

"Milf kink?" Issei asked, unable to stop himself for some reason. That just sounded ridiculous. He would like to think he had no such thing, and was an open minded person about what type of women he classified as attractive.

"Oh c'mon-" Aika pulled on of her hands back, fiddling with something in the pocket of her skirt. What came out, was her phone. The girl searched for something, and flashed the screen over to him, when she found it.

"You can't possibly mean to say, that those hips and tits aren't those of a young mother. I had a lady boner just looking at the pictures we took, can't imagine what it was like up close."

The screen was really close to his face, but when Issei pulled his head back to look at the device, he paled. He was so screwed.

On the phone, was a picture of him and Yasaka during their trek to see Inari. His Beautiful, flirty, mischievous wife had taken many liberties on that walk, one of which was now being displayed before him.

Each of their faces was visible enough, to be able to identify him easily. Yasaka had been leaning in for a kiss, with her hand pretty much forcing him to grope her breasts in public. The camera had even been able to pick up on the light blush of her cheeks and lust in her golden eyes.

Aika swiped the screen to the next photo, which showed the two of them in a heated kiss. It clearly showed her hands clenching, both the one on his collar, and the one over his. Unfortunately, the picture showed his other hand squeezing her ass.

"So Hyoudou…Who's the mystery bombshell?" She leaned forward again, after taking the phone away. Her eyes attempting to coerce him to give in to her demand.

"She's a friend." He hoped she would drop this soon.

"Pft, if she's just a friend, then i'm the queen of England."

When he refused to answer, Aika's gaze shifted to his chest, almost as though she were looking into him. But that wasn't possible, because she was just a regular human.

It took another 15 seconds before Aika decided that she'd had enough of the silent game.

"How about this then? You remember when I embarrassed dumb and dumber, when they thought they had some size scouting secret weapon?"

Issei nodded. It had been one of the more lively lunch breaks he'd spent in the classroom. Aika had trampled their victorious feeling, by whipping out the gender opposite version of Motohama's "technique".

"What if I told you, that I could do more than measure dicks? That I was just a very observant girl, with a healthy curiosity of the human body?" Right, he didn't believe that for a second. This girl had to have a stash of porn hidden somewhere that was at least knee high.

"Observant enough, to have noticed what you usually wear under your shirt. And I can tell, that one of them is missing. Not to mention the indent on your left ring finger."

Out of reflex, Issei brought a hand to feel for the lone ring now placed there. He thought he'd be safe with only wearing it when he was with Yasaka. It had only been on his hand until this morning.

Looking at his left hand, even his vision was having a hard time picking up on what she had noticed. This girl was something else. He hoped she had investigative work on her career list.

Issei sighed, questioning her motives for confronting him with this, while deciding if he should let her remember what she'd learned.

"What now? You going to spread a rumor that i'm married with a stepchild?" If she did, that was likely to have poor results with the devils. From what he'd heard from Kali, they weren't happy about him heading out of town.

Going off and getting married, while their hometown was on an underworld mandated lockdown? Nope, that wouldn't go over well.

"Heh heh, now why would I go and do that? I would much rather hold on to this little tidbit, and see what you do next. It's common knowledge now, that Akeno Himejima seems to have shown an interest in you. You've been strangely tight lipped about a lot of things, and i'm eager to unravel the mystery."

Awesome. Just fucking awesome.

The chances that he could avoid Akeno, and let his effect wear off, were basically zero. If Aika held true to her word, he might just be dealing with people thinking he was one of those guys that came here to gather a harem.

That is, if she spread it around.

The bell rang, signaling that classes were soon to start. Aika stood, reveling in her accomplishment of getting the silent prince riled up. He'd been unflappable since last year, something that many girls praised and speculated about.

At first, she didn't care, thinking him to be the loner type. Her curiosity was peeked after seeing him interact with others a few times, since he showed no signs of the social awkwardness that most of that archetype did.

The rings he wore underneath the uniform, she had figured were just family heirlooms or something. Her nosey nature came in handy today, with the things she noticed. Aika was very much looking forward to learning more.

On top of that list, was how in the world a 2nd year high school student came into a situation where he became a stepfather.

-LineBreak-

"We have to be certain, we've already underestimated his relationship with the fallen and heaven."

It was strange to see the head of the devil military so attentive. Falbium Asmodeus held the firm belief that, "Working means losing" and often fell asleep whenever they held meetings.

Currently, the 4 devil kings were in the capital city Lilith, discussing how they could maneuver things well enough, so they could keep the element of surprise.

"Zekram will only be the first to take offense." The man scratched at his shin, running his fingers through the facial hair.

The room in which they were sitting, was large enough for the entirety of 7 peerages, with the long heavy wood table being the center piece. It was decorated as one would expect, with paintings of key events of devil history.

"Do you really think so? I know he takes tradition seriously, but he also acts to better the devil race as a whole." Spinning in the chair she swapped for a typical office chair, Serafall was dressed in the costume for her show, her demeanor between a serious leader and an easily excitable young girl.

"This is different then what happened with Cleria Belial. We're talking about having a non-devil acting as our own hands here. Queries of motive and trust will be brought up." Ajuka Beelzebub spoke, as calm as he ever was.

His slicked back green hair only a shade lighter then the deeper green of his attire.

They were discussing the possible ramifications of having the Red Dragon Emperor fight Riser Phenex. It was an old, and mostly unused form of the judicial process, and had been since the end of the great war, a trial by combat.

However, the devil kings were certain that Riser would take the bait. His pride would allow nothing less, once the cards were stacked against him.

The charges they were going to use were; theft, fencing, and conspiracy to commit treason. There was enough evidence to have the treason charge added, but they wanted to keep that to themselves for now.

"I really wish we could just tell the people why Ise will be a part of this. But then he'd get mad at me, and cancel our date." The strongest woman in the underworld looked ridiculous, spinning slowly in her chair and pouting, arms crossed against her chest and cheeks puffed out.

"Sera, i'm not sure that would count as a date. It seemed that he meant it to just be a meal between family and friends." Sirzechs' reply was met with a cold glare, as her chair magically stopped right in his direction.

A super devil he might be, but that didn't mean he didn't have a healthy fear of a womans wrath. He would hold his tongue on the subject, but his point still stood. Issei had said that the dinner wouldn't be just the two of them. His daughter was going to be in attendance as well, which was the biggest bonus in his opinion.

Serafall was the best at analyzing a person with a glance, it was a part of what made her so deadly during the civil war. A few minutes in the presence of the little girl, and Sera would be able to tell how she was developing.

"It is too a date! Just because there other women will be there, doesn't change that." It seemed that she wouldn't be moved on this subject. Sirzechs hoped that Issei realized what he was getting in to.

"I believe the topic has strayed too far, Lady Leviathan." The calm voice of Grayfia spoke from her place near the door.

Sirzechs looked to his wife, and when her steel gaze shifted to him, he quickly averted it to his fellow leaders. It was a mistake, telling her of how he and Serafall had once slept together after a rather gruesome fight during the civil war. How they dealt with the masses they had slain, was a mistake on both sides.

She didn't take it well, learning that her husband had taken the virginity of the other woman in the room, during the time that he had been trying to court her from opposing sides of the conflict. Grayfia came to regret asking where he learned to back down from her glares.

"Ahem, yes, I agree. In any case, If Serafall believes that the Red Dragon Emperor can be trusted to follow our guidelines, I believe we have our finalized plan."

The young man was most likely not going to like it, but they just couldn't reasonably have Riser killed. The backlash would be too great. The things they were going to publicly charge the Phenex with, did not measure up to receiving capital punishment.

Getting Azazel and Eneely Vassago to cooperate had been simple enough. Ajuka had been the obvious choice to approach the heiress, with his family's relationship to hers. Now she was being safely kept guarded by one of Azazel's most trusted people. The lightning of God may be a stern and somewhat uncompromising man, but he understood the value of being discreet.

Sirzechs wasn't sure how, but he was going to repay Issei Hyoudou for what he had set in motion. The three factions were coming together, like they had only once before. Aside from the benefits his people would get from the threat of war dissipating, he was also helping Rias. There were no riches he wouldn't give to the young man, for helping to save his sisters happiness.

"How long do we wait, before putting the plan in motion?" The question posed by Falbium, was pondered by the other three.

The plan was this: They would ask for a meeting of elders, and present their findings, from looking into the disappearance of Lady Vassago, which would lead into an untracked crate of phoenix tears found in an area she frequented. That shipment would lead them to a black market operation involving the healing liquid.

Riser was the only member of the family to have the kind of access necessary, and a habit of going off grid for days at a time, that him being magically tagged for monitoring wouldn't cause anyone to look too closely.

Once they had gathered enough information on what Riser was up to, Eneely would reappear, claiming to have been taking some time for herself, to escape the pressures and stress that being the head of a pillar created.

A spontaneous vacation to an unknown location, was fairly common among family heads.

Sirzechs had wanted to move his aunt Misla as well, but it had been decided that moving her to a secure location might alert the enemy. Plus, her son kept a close eye on her anyway.

"Riser is getting impatient about his engagement to Rias. He's pushing for the wedding to take place in a few months, and has set appointments for several venues and caterers. Once the shipment arrives in a few days, we wait to until he is contacted by them. The moment that happens, we call for the hearing."

From this point on, Grayfia was going to have the most difficult job of them all, regarding this situation. She was going to be the one to tell Issei that he couldn't kill Riser. She would also have to be present if Riser went to see Rias, to convince her and go through with it.

-LineBreak-

To his surprise, Issei hadn't seen any of the devils all day, except for Koneko. Instead of the glare that she'd given him last time, today she'd looked puzzled by what she was feeling from him.

He didn't blame her either, since he literally had a piece of Yasaka inside of him now.

The day had ended without much happening, just the usual rambling of teachers. Issei was determined to keep his promise of finishing high school, but sometimes it was a real test of patience. Traveling the world and experiencing it first hand, was a better learning tool than being stuck in a classroom in his opinion.

With no reason to hang back, Issei made his way home. He did still have to contact Azazel, although he was reluctant to do so. The Governor of the fallen had a habit of sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

Like the time he tried sneaking up on Issei while he was asleep, to understand his effect on angels. The man hadn't been able to move an inch, as Issei had trapped him in a gravity well strong enough to drag even the oxygen in the air down to the floor.

It was not a good idea to approach Nora's side of the bed with only a robe on. Nora had found the situation, mostly his reaction, to be hysterical. He did not, especially after the shit she pulled when they were in Spain.

Opening the door to his home, Issei was about to call out that he was finally back, but realized how bad of an idea that was.

The tv was on, the sound muted, showing sun reruns of shark week. Across from that, cramped onto the couch, was all of the girls.

Kali was at the far side, her head leaning back onto the headrest. One arm was being used as her pillow, and the other was draped over it. Beside her was Asia, laying her head against the fallen angel's abdomen. Anna was sitting much like Kali was, except both hands were holding onto Mari, who was curled up and using the nekoshou as a pillow.

All four were out cold, likely because Mari wanted to spend the day playing with the new people.

He tried to shut the door silently, but even that small noise of the latch had stirred the fallen. She didn't move, but her deep blue eyes opened and shifted over to him quickly.

Issei smiled and waved towards her, keeping silent so that Anna and Asia could rest from what had undoubtedly been a busy day.

Kalawarner looked at the nun, over to the other two, before slowly shifting. One of her hands went behind Asia's head, and the other on her back. Pushing lightly, Kali got Asia off of her, and shifted herself to be able to stand, then gently guiding Asia down.

The nun only pulled her hands into a prayer position, nuzzling in to the cushion on the couch, never waking.

Taking off his shoes, Issei walked into the kitchen for a glass of water. Cleaning the mess from yesterday had taken a good 2 hours. It would have been a little quicker, had Kalawarner not used the wrong solution.

With a glass in hand, Issei turned on the tap. The large glass was only half full, when he felt arms wrap around him, and rather large chest pressed into his back.

"The school boy returns." She whispered into his ear.

Shutting off the flow of water, Issei tapped on her hand, letting her know to ease up a bit. When she did as asked, he turned in her grasp, and took a sip of the cold drink.

"How did today go?" They had to talk quietly, or else either Anna or Mari would wake up. For the moment, he would rather they stayed asleep, so he could have a moment with Kalawarner.

When he went for another drink, Kalawarner tipped his glass with a finger, getting him to drink it all in one go. Setting the glass on the counter, once she took it from him, Kali stepped into him again.

"Aside from the little one following Asia around most of the morning, she's exactly like Nora. Spontaneous, energetic, charismatic, the only thing I think she gets from you is the hybrid genes and her appetite."

Issei chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her, one hand on her back and the other on her neck. Kali sighed, taking a deep breath of him through her nose as she nuzzled into his collar.

He rubbed gently on her back for a few seconds, before she spoke.

"How about we sneak upstairs?" Her hips started to slowly grind against him, making her question and real intentions clear.

"We'd wake Mari."

If he thought she would be deterred by that, he was sorely mistaken.

"You could just gag me, if you want me to keep quiet. I won't mind." Issei had been right, about his thoughts about her from before. She was going to keep pressing this particular issue until he gave in.

His only reservation on doing what she wanted, was him being married again. Maybe it was from the way he was raised, short as that had been. Even though Yasaka had said that Anna and Kali were little more than possessions in the eyes of many, he would still feel that he was cheating on Yasaka.

A question entered his mind then. Was it because it was with Kalawarner, or just the fact that he was supposed to be in a committed relationship?

How would he feel if it were Anna saying the same thing right now?

Issei felt her hand slip down to the thing she was craving, and he tried to create a mental picture to sort out his thoughts. He used the events just before leaving Kyoto as a frame of reference.

Dipping her head down, Yasaka licked from the base of his shaft, up to the tip. The feeling alone had blood rushing down.

His face was pulled to the side by a pair of soft hands, getting him to look directly into the yellow eyes of Anna. His near silent companion quickly pushed forward and claimed his lips for a kiss. Deep and heated, he could feel her tongue sweeping out, wanting his to join hers.

The wet and warm sensation below made him give a low moan into his kiss with Anna.

Yasaka pulled back slowly, letting her tongue slide against the bottom of him. Once at the tip, Yasaka swirled her tongue around it, before going back down, her lips touching his pelvis.

Anna broke their kiss, and he saw the sly smile on her lips before she stepped to the side and knelt down beside the kitsune.

Yasaka pulled her head away, angling herself on his right side, while Anna was on his left.

As much as he tried to deny wanting something like this, Issei couldn't say that the image before him wasn't amazing. A woman with dark hair, her hand gently sliding up his thigh, a blonde with her hand pumping up and down his shaft, using her own saliva as the lubricant.

Ding-Dong

The doorbell rang at a good time, and Issei was pulled from his fantasy and realization.

Kali huffed in annoyance at the disruption, but let him go without any further protest.

All three girls had been woken up by the sound, but he had gotten closer to the door then they were by the time they realized what woke them.

The realization he came to? That his moral compass wasn't as rigid as he thought. And maybe, he was still holding onto the past a little too much.

With a calming breath, Issei grabbed the handle for the front door, twisted and pulled. He'd thought that it would just be a door to door sales person like normal, since he didn't normally get visitors.

He was wrong.

Standing there, were 6 of the devils that controlled the area.

Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Sona, Ruruko and Tsubaki, the two high class ladies looked serious. Koneko ate her candy like it was the only thing of importance, while Ruruko was staring at him nervously.

But Akeno? She went from glancing at him, to glaring at the fallen angel that had appeared behind in the doorway behind him.

"Hi Issei, may we came in?" Rias have had a smile on her lips, but her eyes said that she was upset with him.

"Who is it Daddy?" Fantastic, now Mari had seen them. She'd be asking questions for the next few weeks, about who they were.

"No one sweetie, just some people who got lost." He said with a pointed glare towards his unannounced visitors.

When Rias tried to peer inside, he moved the door to block her view.

"I told you, that maybe you'd meet her at a later date. If you need to talk, we can do it tomorrow, at school." His voice was a quiet and threatening growl.

Kali took the initiative, with her hand on the upper part of the door, and closed it hard.

"No way in hell they're getting some before me. I don't care if they're related to the devil kings, the thirsty bitches can wait their damn turn."

Issei blinked, as the door slammed.

Turning around, he saw Kali shuffle over to the couch, taking the spot she was in earlier.

"Kali, please watch the language around Mari."

It was all he could think of, to say at the moment. He would deal with the devils later.

END!

I wanted to do a little more Yasaka stuff, but I felt that we needed to head back to Kuoh. So we'll have more fun with her later.

Also kind of wanted to just jump into a Kalawarner lemon, but felt a little build up would be better.

Maybe next time eh?

Thank you to Revan's Wraith and Crimson Azazel for giving this a read through before hand.

If any of you wanna come hang out in our discord, here the link! Sometimes I post my progress for a chapter there.

[ gg/ xEApPAS ]


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